There are two primary ingredients we use in skin care to get rid of acne - Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic Acid. In some cases you may have encountered products that use both however many people do not know the benefits of Salicylic Acid or the drawbacks of Benzoyl Peroxide.
The truth about Benzoyl Peroxide is that is dries out your skin. And if you're fighting acne this may sound like a good thing but it leads to irritation. When your skin becomes overly dry it produces more oil to compensate for the dryness and when combined with the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin it can clog pores and actually create more breakouts! An additional issue with Benzoyl Peroxide is that it can cause skin irritations that then increase redness and flaking on your skin and a number of studies have actually linked BP with the creation of free radicals and increased instances of sun damage.
Many skin care professionals believe that the best acne products use Salicylic Acid instead of Benzoyl Peroxide. Acne is not just caused by oil that needs to be dried up on your skin it is also caused by the build up of dead skin cells on the skin's surface - Those dead skin cells then combine with surface oil to clog pores and cause the bacteria that creates acne to multiply. Instead of treating acne by drying your skin up Salicylic Acid helps to shed the dead skin cells from within the pores themselves before dead skin cells can clog pores ensuring that you have clear pores that can’t be clogged.
Salicylic Acid can take up to four weeks to purge and cleanse your pores so you will want to be patient with the results however in the long term it will keep your skin clear without over drying, irritating and ultimately leading to signs of premature aging.