One of the most common Skincare topics is Acne. But, it can be really hard to treat it. Mostly because there is no one size fits all treatment. There are ingredients though that definitely helps to fight acne.
My Experience with Acne:
I know that acne sucks. I would not lie to you and say, I have a horrible experience with acne, because I have never had a problem with cystic acne in my life. Even when I was teenager, I never dealt with cystic acne. I thank my parents for the genes there. But, I had an incident of a terrible hormonal breakout when I was about 25 years old. I literally tried everything on the market to cure that and finally after a lot of trial and error, learning about the ingredients in the skincare products, reading the labels, I found what works my skin and was able to get rid of it.
All this to say that I understand that Acne can be traumatizing and it can hard to deal with. Acne can be caused by number of reasons, like hormonal, the products your are using, your eating habits, etc. I won’t go into details here, and with so many products out there in the market its hard to figure out what to use. Therefore, I wanted to point you to the ingredients that helped me and are proven to treat acne, which might help you.
Before I talk about the best products and ingredients to try for acne, here’s my skin type:
- combination oily, sensitive and I get occasional acne during the time of the month.
- I do get a lot of whiteheads though, due to the hormonal changes more than the actual acne.
The 5 Ingredients that help with Acne: Pin it to refer when you are shopping for products.
Salicylic Acid
Salicylic acid is one of the most common talked about ingredients. Salicylic acid is a type of BHA (Beta Hydroxy Acid). BHA’s is a oil soluble acid, so it a chemical exfoliant but it is oil soluble. The reason why Salicylic acid is most popular is because it is oil soluble it can actually get into your pores and it unclogs the oils.
Another reason why salicylic acid is great to treat acne is because its anti-inflammatory. Therefore, it helps with the redness and swelling.
One thing to keep in mind though is, Salicylic acid is not meant to kill the bacteria that actually causes the acne. So while it can treat the existing acne, it won’t be killing the bacteria that causes the acne to begin with.
Salicylic acid can be used as a part of your daily routine.
Products that contain salicylic acid and are some of my favorites:
Benzoyl Peroxide
One of the other most frequently talked about ingredients for acne is Benzoyl Peroxide.
One of the most asked questions that I get is, what is the difference between Salicylic acid and Benzoyl Peroxide?. Benzoyl Peroxide actually kills the acne causing bacteria, while salicylic acid does not do that. (as you read above).
That is a very big deal because when you are dealing with cystic acne, you need to kill the bacteria that is causing the acne along with treating the already existing acne. The problem with Benzoyl Peroxide is, it can be very drying to the skin. So you have to ease into it. But, if you are dealing with persistent acne you should give this ingredient a try.
Like Salicylic acid, Benzoyl Peroxide is anti-inflammatory.
The thing to keep in mind while using Benzoyl Peroxide is, it cancels out all the other active ingredients like the niacinamides, glycolic, Vitamin C etc. In the future, I am planning to do a blog post all about different active ingredients to use together, so make sure you subscribe to the blog, so that you don’t miss that post.
So, if you are using Benzoyl peroxide, use it more like a treatment and not as a part of your daily routine. Use once or twice a week.
Products that contain Benzoyl Peroxide:
Sulfur
Sulfur is actually a really popular ingredient when it comes to skincare products. It is usually paired with other ingredients like the salicylic acid. You might have already seen those products, where you dip your Q-tip and apply that to your acne spots to dry it down.
Sulphur also helps to break down the Keratin that can cause clogged pores. Keratin is a protein in our skin. When you have clogged pores, there is an excessive Keratin buildup which Sulphur can help break down.
Sulphur is not as strong as some of the ingredients mentioned above, but it works to loosen up the acne. So if you are pregnant or breastfeeding or don’t want to use a stronger ingredient like Benzoyl Peroxide, you can try Sulphur.
Sulfur is also an antibacterial. I find the sulfur masks to be most effective rather than a cleanser or moisturizer. A mask can also act as a spot treatment.
Retinoids:
Another ingredient that i think everyone should have in their skincare routine is Retinoids. Retinoids are the gold standard for acne treatment. They are the gold standard for skincare anyways when it comes to antiaging, bright skin, etc. I will also be doing a full post dedicated to Retinoids in the future, so make sure you keep an eye out for that on the blog.
Retinoids do a lot of things for your skin, but the reason why they are great for acne is because they are great for skin cell turnover. So they are essentially pushing new cells to the surface by removing the dead cells. This can help to get rid of acne scars and dark spots.
You can get over-the-counter retinol or a prescription retinoid.
Niacinamide
Niacinamide does not necessarily treat acne but its good to have in your skincare routine if you are dealing with acne.
It helps to balance the oil production and strengthens your skin in general so if you have clogged pores, its good to add it to your routine.
If you are not sure of what products to get, you can also try developing a routine with Haldi Skin. All you have to do is fill out the details of your skin concerns and the experts at Haldi will suggest the products and the routine for you.
Other skincare posts, you would find helpful:
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