Traditional Acne Treatments May Cause Harm!

As adults, when we get a pimple we tend to treat it the same way we did as teenagers – our old acne zit cream or lotion packed with high concentrations of benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and sometimes even topical vitamin A products.

The problem is that adult skin doesn't respond the same way to these products as teenage skin does. The result is red blotchy areas, more break outs and increased skin sensitivity.In trying to control this, we apply even more and stronger treatments to our skin but, instead of seeing an improvement, we actually see more damage and skin-related issues as the skin creates more oil to protect it from the damage and abuse of these harsh chemicals. Thus creating a vicious cycle of over-medicating the skin causing increased facial redness, clogged pores, and skin irritation.

To examine each of these traditional acne treatments more closer, we need to first examine what it is that we are actually applying to our skin.

Benzoyl peroxide is an oxygen-releasing chemical that causes drying, peeling, and antibacterial action on the skin. It is the #1 topical treatment for acne lesions. The release of oxygen is important to combat the anaerobic bacteria present in the acne-affected follicles. The peeling and drying effects peel the acne pustules (vesicles filled with pus) and open up the comedones (non-inflammatory acne lesions, such as black heads or white heads). Benzoyl peroxide is absorbed in the skin where it is metabolized to benzoic acid and then excreted as benzoate in the urine. Side effects consist mainly of skin irritation including: burning, blistering, crusting, itching, severe redness, and skin rash.

Salicylic Acid is another common ingredient in many acne products. Commonly known as aspirin, salicylic acid is also used for wart removal. Salicylic acid removes the outer layer of skin and is toxic in large amounts.

Retinols or Vitamin A based products act as a chemical peeling agent, which helps the skin to renew itself more rapidly. By increasing the rate of turnover of the skin, it reduces pimple and black head formation. It is commonly used to treat acne as well as to treat fine wrinkling.

Topical vitamin A has a number of common side effects--such as burning, redness, itching, peeling, and stinging; but, it is very effective at increasing the shedding of coenocytes, the cells of the topmost layer of the epidermis, contributing to smoother-feeling skin. It also reduces pigmentation and more evenly distributes pigment in the epidermis, resulting in the improvement of mottled hyper pigmentation. This really limits your ability to use these products as part of your daily skin care regimen.