Skin Care

I’m not a professional dermatologist, but when my teenage daughter started having problems with acne, I began to read up.  Back when I was a teenager all the exfoliate products for acne skin care had salicylic acid in them.  This was the medication I was familiar with and yet, I knew it was also used for treating other types of more serious skin problems.  So, I was a bit concerned it might be too harsh on my daughter’s younger skin.  I didn’t want her to end up with red blotchy skin just to solve her acne.

However, after watching Episode #69 on DermTV, “The Difference Between Glycolic and Salicylic Acid” I not only realized there was an alternative, but that salicylic acid can be just as safe.  Dr Neal Schultz speaks in plain terms about the difference between these two medications used in skin products today.  It turns out the Glycolic acid is the most common, or as he says “the work horse”, for most skin exfoliate issues because it can be safe from a mild dose of 1 to 2% to even the more stringent dosage used at the dermatologist’s office of up to 70%.  I thought that was a bit extreme, but then again that is only used by the dermatologist.  It does make me feel much more secure in getting something for my daughter and knowing it will be safe for acne skin care and her younger skin even if the percentage is as high as 5%.

According to Dr. Schultz, salicylic acid is still the most common treatment for acne skin care, although, it can become harsh on the skin even as little as 2% of the active ingredient.  He did mention that when used as directed it is safe for all types of skin.  Using a product with salicylic acid should not result in any redness or irritation, which is the last thing a teenage daughter needs when facing her friends at high school.

In the end, when used as directed both products are safe, even on younger skin.There may be other exfoliation options out there, but these are two Dr. Schultz said to look for.  Glycolic is the one we’re trying now.  But it’s nice to know there are options if it doesn’t provide the kind of acne skin care we are looking for.

The subject of the different acids that are used to exfoliate the skin can be confusing and a little scary because of that word “Acid”

For all intensive purposes for all the products that are used in the office or for home use, there are really only two that you need to know about Glycolic and Salicylic Acid.

And when these products are used properly there is no downtime. That means no irritation, no redness and no recovery. So effectively if there is no recovery there is no burning. These acids are not burning your skin, they’re treating your skin.

And both of them are equally effective to be used as exfoliates for all three different purposes of facial exfoliation.

• For facial rejuvenation, to make the skin look fresher and younger.
• To help prevent acne and,
• Also used to remove early abnormal dead cells that tend to want to become cancerous or are already pre-cancerous.

The work horse here is really Glycolic Acid. It is the one you hear about being used for lunch time cures and has a very wide therapeutic margin. That means from a strength of 3 or 4 percent to 70 percent that we use in the office, there is very little irritation. And it does a great job of exfoliating, removing the dead cells and accomplishing what we want it to accomplish.

On the other hand Salicylic Acid is a little more brittle. It has an hour therapeutic range, because it only becomes effective at about one half of 1 percent. And by 2 percent it tends to be a little irritating.

However, Salicylic Acid is the old work horse for the treatment of all types of acne.

The bottom line here and the take away for you is the two acids that we are using for facial rejuvination and all other sorts of exfoliation are very safe to use as directed. And should not be any reason for concern for you.