salicylic acid making me break out??
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free skin care · Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:13 am

I'm wondering if anyone else experienced this, or if it's just my imagination (or if I'm just odd!)

I used to use only drugstore stuff for my adult hormonal acne - mostly Neutrogena salicylic acid and/or benzoyl peroxide and ROC moisturizer. I still got breakouts and had lots of blackheads. I threw it all out and started using Dr. Hauschka CC, clarifying toner, and balancing day oil and pearl paste. Immediately my skin started improving and the blackheads disappeared, but I still had some breakouts. I added the aspirin mask and that helped. Feeling bold I bought Juice Organics blemish serum - immediate breakout. hmm

.... Then I got PSF 2% salicylic acid. Made me break out. Stopped using, and started using pearl paste at night instead. Got better.

I'm starting to think that the salicylic acid products are making me break out. And yet, the aspirin mask works. I also just got the PSF pumpkin mask and that seems fine too.

I'm thinking that I should stop trying to use "acne" products and just stick to the Dr. Hauschka line and deal with occasional small breakouts.

Is this familiar to anyone? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Confused

free skin care · Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:31 am

It might not be the salicylic acid in the products, but the other stuff in them. I used to think salicylic acid and me didn't mix, but I've also used some products with it that are effective. But then, you could just be sensitive to it.

I really like the 2% salicylic peel by Neutrogena. I also bought a cheap one by University Medical (they make the Proactiv knock off), that really works and is surprisingly gentle. My old acne marks are really starting to fade.

free skin care · Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:58 am

I used benzoyl peroxide which really helped but since it's not good for you and I have been using it for 2-3 years,I started going from product to product to find a good substitute.I also used Jo blemish serum which did nothing good for me at all-sticky+breakouts+sticky :-&.I also used Clean &Clear acne treatment gel with 2 % salicylic acid-ehh-not good either.But when I used La Roche Posay acne cream which has the salisylic acid and glycolic acid I got a lot a lot better results.So perhaps it is that the lines just weren't good or that by itself it didn't really work.Or perhaps it makes the stuff that is under your skin resurface all at once. Embarassed

free skin care · Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:00 am

You might be experiencing purging, if your skin is congested then using SA will bring lurking debris to the surface. It basically purges your pores to keep them clean by softening the "plugs". So, if your pores are gunked up then the only place for the stuff to go is out, right? I personally believe that the more congested the skin the longer you will purge BUT if you skin doesn't seem to be getting any better then, yes, it might be the mixture you are using so you might want to try a different formulation..

free skin care · Sun Mar 23, 2008 5:30 pm

thanks for the suggestions....

I wonder if anyone else has had breakouts with the PSF saliclyic acid? One of the reasons I got that one is that there are so few other ingredients in the formulation.

free skin care · Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:57 pm

I did when I first started using it but, my skin was really congested. It took about a month of daily use and extractions every week before my skin texture was smooth and pores were clean. I used the 5% in the AM and Retin-A every other night.

free skin care · Mon Mar 24, 2008 2:30 pm

I agree with vonstella. It is likely that your skin is trying to get rid of all the bad stuff underneath. I experience the same things, but I really think that stress is more to blame in my case. When I'm not under stress the salicylic wash works great, and when I am under stress I still break out, but the pimples go away faster. Everyone is different though, so go with what works for you.

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:15 am

salicylic acid is the one product that I run like the wind from, it makes me break out in a big big way...and this is not purging. A few months ago I unknowingly tried this biore scrub that had salicylic in it and it tooks weeks to clear my skin...so yes, it is possible to have skin sensitivities toward SA. I used it a lot as a teenager not realizing that it was actually the root of the problem.

Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:57 am

Salycylic acid should be making your skin moisturized and plumper but it should not be causing breakouts. First of all it sounds like you are mixing too many different products which may be causing your skin to react. If you already found something good stick to it! I believe that it must be other ingredients in the product that are causing the breakouts! Set the product aside for now. Smile

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:01 am

thanks Coconut & SusanSkin - It's validating to hear that someone else reacted to it... and the more I look into it I agree that it was just too much. In fact, I think that the reason the SA made me break out was that I was using too much of it and it was irritating my skin.

I definitely have a "more is more" problem. Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:26 am

SusanSkin wrote:

Salycylic acid should be making your skin moisturized and plumper but it should not be causing breakouts.

Hmmm, with all do respect, I have never heard this, in fact, most products that contain SA, or GA say that a period of breakouts is to be expected. I have never experienced "plumping" or added moisture from using SA UNLESS it was in a moisturizer base. I'm curious where you got your info?!

sgresnic, If you do not have acne prone skin and only deal with the occasional breakout, you may only need to use SA like two to three times a week to see results. However, I know that a lot of ladies here broke out rather badly after using the whole Dr. H line. You may want to look at other products as the culprit too.

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:43 am

thanks, vonstella.

I was using the Dr. H stuff for a couple of months without problems, so I don't think that's the problem. My skin seems to love the Dr. H line.

I agree that 2 or 3 times a week for the SA is a good idea.

I'm pretty sure that a couple of years ago the SA wouldn't have done this. My skin definitely is changing as I age.

sigh.

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:37 am

before i went on accutane, i experienced a skin freakout everytime i tried a new regimen. i think, at times, it backfired on me due to ingredient overload. too many acne-fighting ingredients can irritate the skin and make it worse. i've found that keeping my oily skin moisturized helps it out quite a bit (oil-free, non-comedogenic, of course!). i currently use cetaphil, a glycolic toner at night, and a vitamin c serum in the morning (plus night cream and day sunscreen). my skin has thanked me for it!

it does sound like you might have some aversion to salicylic acid, like an allergy, since other ingredients have worked just fine for you. have you seen a dermatologist?

free skin care · Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:01 pm

jadkin wrote:

before i went on accutane, i experienced a skin freakout everytime i tried a new regimen. i think, at times, it backfired on me due to ingredient overload. too many acne-fighting ingredients can irritate the skin and make it worse. i've found that keeping my oily skin moisturized helps it out quite a bit (oil-free, non-comedogenic, of course!). i currently use cetaphil, a glycolic toner at night, and a vitamin c serum in the morning (plus night cream and day sunscreen). my skin has thanked me for it!

it does sound like you might have some aversion to salicylic acid, like an allergy, since other ingredients have worked just fine for you. have you seen a dermatologist?

I saw a dermatologist throughout my 20s but quite frankly just got tired of it, and my skin is really not that bad. In fact everyone tells me how wonderful my skin is, and all I think is "can't they see the zits?" Rolling Eyes

But if I keep piling everything on my face in the search for perfection I think it will just keep getting worse. Thanks for the input - it's good to hear that others have had similar experiences.

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