Hello everyone!
Sorry for the long silence, I’ve been really busy, and the weather was terrible – I’m very sensitive to the weather. (How do you react to the weather?)
Let’s continue about acne. I’ve already written about a two-step cleansing routine. I’ve covered the hydrophilic oil, and now I want to talk about the second step. I’ve tried many different cleansers. Some were good, some not so much. I experimented for quite a while and found two ideal options for myself.
The first is cleansers with salicylic acid.
If your skin is acne-prone, you’re probably already familiar with salicylic acid as an ingredient in cosmetics, or at least have noticed it on the labels of most acne-fighting products.
Salicylic acid is an organic compound that has been used for many years in the chemical industry and medicine. Before medical scientists identified the numerous therapeutic effects of salicylates, people in different countries independently discovered through experimentation that willow leaves and bark were helpful for pain and fever. For example, in the 4th century, Hippocrates gave women willow leaves to chew as a pain reliever during childbirth. Long before Columbus, Native Americans used crushed willow bark as an anesthetic compress.
In 1828, the German scientist Johann A. Buchner isolated salicylic alcohol glucoside (a derivative of salicylic acid called salicin) from willow bark. Ten years later, in 1838, the Italian chemist Raffaele Piria converted salicin into a compound he named salicylic acid, from the Latin salix, meaning “willow.” In 1897, Felix Hoffmann, working for the pharmaceutical company Bayer, synthesized acetylsalicylic acid (originally discovered by the French chemist Charles-Frédéric Gerhardt in 1853), which became known as aspirin (trade name). So, the familiar headache pill and salicylic acid are closely related.
Today, this cosmetic ingredient is derived from white willow bark and wintergreen leaves, and is also synthesized in the laboratory. Salicylic acid is used in cosmetics not only as an active ingredient but also as a preservative—due to its bactericidal and fungicidal properties—to extend the shelf life of the product.
One cause of acne is excess sebum combining with dead skin cells and bacteria, forming a plug in the pore. Salicylic acid helps remove and loosen skin cells by exfoliating them, penetrating pores, and dissolving sebum—freeing pores from impurities and leaving them clear. Therefore, salicylic acid is ideal for treating blackheads and whiteheads.
Salicylic acid also reduces inflammation. Similarly, salicylic acid helps reduce the amount of pro-inflammatory mediators that cause inflammation in the skin. This helps reduce redness, swelling, and soreness around the pimple. By the way, if you are allergic to aspirin, be careful when using salicylic acid, as you may also have an allergic reaction to it!!!
