Salicylic Acid – What Is It & How Does it work?
What is salicylic acid?
Salicylic acid is a beta-hydroxy acid (BHA). It is found in plants, functioning as a plant hormone. It is found in high levels in the bark of willow. The genus name of willow is Salix, and the name salicylic was derived from this. Salicylic acid is related to aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). Salicylic acid and glycolic acid are the two most popular types of chemical peel.
Salicylic acid is less irritating than glycolic acid
If glycolic acid or other skin products cause you significant skin irritation, salicylic acid is a good choice since it is less irritating.
Salicylic acid is an anti-inflammatory, so it actually will lessen irritation. Glycolic acid does not have this property. Since acne inflames skin, this one reason why many acne products have salicyclic acid, not other hydroxy acids.
How does salicylic acid work?
The upper most layer of the skin the stratum corneum is composed of mainly dead cells that are held together by keratin a protein that forms long filaments (strings). All the time, cells and clumps of cells are breaking loose and flaking off the skin.
Salicylic acid dissolves keratin. This results in more loose cells. This leads to an increase in the number of number of cells that are lost.
The loss of cells from the surface of the skin results in the surface of the skin being smoother. After multiple uses of the chemical peel, there will be a more even skin tone, resulting in younger-looking skin..
Salicylic acid should be used regularly
To get the benefits of salicylic acid, it has to be used regularly. Improvements in the skin occur in very small steps, when using any chemical peel at home.
Once per day products
Most products containing salicylic acid are usually used at frequent intervals, often once per day. The concentration of salicylic acid in products is lower in these products than the weekly peel treatments. The concentration is usually less than 5%.
Weekly chemical peel products
Products that are used less frequently contain higher concentrations of salicylic acid. The concentrations are usually in the range of 20 to 30 %.
Most who use salicylic acid will opt for the the daily products. This is due to the fact that it is easier to remember to do something daily - we fit it in our routines - rather than weekly.
Long term effects of salicylic acid on skin
Anybody with dark skin and a tendency to very easy scarring should be careful before doing a series of peels. Salicylic acid may cause general lightening of the skin. Mandelic acid is a chemical peel that is recommended for darker skin or for those whose scars tend to be pigmented.
Regular use of salicylic acid will result in smoother younger looking skin. The continued chemical peeling will even out the skin, and fade sun spots and hyperpigmentation. There should also be a reduction in fine lines.
The level of the effects seen and how long it takes to see an effect will depend on skin type, the state of the skin at the beginning of treatment, genetics, amount of sun damage etc.
The bottom line
Salicylic acid is an effective anti-aging skin treatment. Using it once per day makes it easy to incorporate into a routine. If your scars tend to be pigmented or you have darker skin you might want to cosider mandelic acid.
