Salicylic Acid 2% Peel

Salicylic 2% Peel lotion, is a fast release treatment. It works well as an exfoliating treatment for heavily congested skin with alot of breakouts/pimples, blackheads, acne scarring, and excess oil concerns. It is better suited to combination to oil prone skin. It can be used as a leave on treatment or wash off peel treatment, depending on your skin’s tolerance for the treatment.

Clinically acknowledged benefits:

Exfoliates dead skin cells from the surface leaving the skin softer, smoother, and brighter.

Controls excess oil production

Decongests the pores reducing the possibility of spots

Removes blackheads

Encourages skin cell turnover and boosts collagen production

Effective bactericide – will kill acne causing bacteria

Which Strength?

5% – mild enough to be used daily to control excess oil and keep the pores clear

10% – provides mild exfoliation and decongestion of the pores; eliminates blackheads; useful treatment for Keratosis Pilaris

15% – medium peel providing deeper exfoliation;Prolonged weekly use will gradually remove shallow acne scarring.

We strongly recommend that first time users of salicylic peels try our 10% Salicylic peel. After a course of 6 peels or so, if your skin is responding well then you can consider upgrading to the 15%.

How to Use:
Make sure the skin is clean and dry
Take a cotton pad and dampen with the solution
Wipe over the complexion
(you might experience tingling or stinging – this is to be expected)
Wait for the allotted time* and then apply the neutraliser gel
Leave the neutraliser gel on the skin for 1 minute
Rinse the skiin with warm water and pat dry

*1 minute for the first application then add 1 minute to the time on each subsequent application up to a maximum of 6 or 7 minutes

What to expect:
Your skin might redden after the application – this is common especially if you have sensitive skin. Don’t be concerned as the redddening will subside within a few hours.
The next day the skin might feel tighter and usually feels drier.
You might notice slight flaking of the skin within a day or two of application

Aftercare
To counteract any drying effects of the peel use a moisturiser daily. Avoid moisturisers with mineral oils, petroleum, and silicones.
Do not use any other products or tools that can exfoliate the skin – this includes chemical peels, scrubs, dermabrasion devices, and toners containing AHAs or BHAs
As the use of chemical peels will make the skin photosensitive (more susceptible to sun damage) it is essential that you wear a sunscreen when outdoors.

Warning!

Salicylic acid peels are not recommended for use during pregnancy or if lactating.

Do not use on broken skin or areas affected by eczema, psoriasis or dermatitis.

Do not use salicylic acid if you have an intolerance to aspirin

Not to be used by those with diabetes mellitus or Reynaud’s disease

Before using this product for the first time please conduct a patch test. Simply dab a small amount of the solution on an unobtrusive, small area of skin – ( a 10p sized area just behind the ear is ideal). Check the area 24 hours later to ensure that your skin is not unduly inflamed or reddened.If all is fine then apply the peel to your complexion as instructed.

Why is saliylic acid effective for oily, combination, and acne prone skin?

Overly oily and acne prone skin is typically associated with teenage years. But it can often occur during pregnancy and the menopause, it may even be casued by the use of oral contraceptives. So these conditions are related to hormonal changes and specifically due to elevated levels of testosterone. The sebaceous glands are particularly sensitive to hormones. It’s thought that increased levels of testosterone cause the glands to produce much more sebum than the skin needs – a condition known as hyper-seborrhea.

Another condition associated with problematic skin is hyper-keratinosis. Keratin is a protein found in skin, hair, and nails and hyper-keratinosis caused an excess of keratin to be produced.

Hyper-seborrhea and hyper-keratinosis combine to cause the follicles to become congested with a mixture of sebum, keratin. dead skin cells, and dirt. These all combine to create a waxy pasted that builds up until the follicle becomes blocked. Should the follicle close over then acne causing bacteria might proliferate until an inflammatory response occurs and a whitehead or spot occurs. If the follicle remains open then the waxy paste dries out and oxidises forming a blackhead. Most of the congestion occurs in the T-zone simply because there are more sebum producing glands in this are of the face.

Saliylic acid is effective because unlike alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic, lactic etc) it can work within the follicles to help clear the congestion. The alcohol that the salicylic is dissolved in (salicylic acid is insoluble in water) certainly aids in this process as the alcohol is able to penetrate the waxy paste, softening it, and enabling it to be gradually removed.

Saliylic acid is also a highly effective bactericide. It will quickly kill the acne causing bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes).