Salicylic Acid or Benzoyl Peroxide (which is the lesser of two evils?)?

Question

Hi,
I am 35 years old and my acne has been at it's worse than ever before. I eat fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water. I am healthy. I just have oily skin. I am trying to decide which of the lesser of two evils to go with.....Salicylic Acid or Benzoyl Peroxide? What is the difference between the two and which one is more effective? Is it possible to get a moisturizer with SPF sunscreen in either one ? I have it all: blackheads, cystic acne and dent pockets that my blackheads have created that I can't seem to get rid of. Thanks everyone for your help!!!

Answer 1

Salicylic acid in a 2% solution and sulfur in a 10% solution. Both of these work better than benzoyle peroxide. The products I recommend to my clients are by Bee-Luscious Cosmetics. They also have a Oil Free Day Protection with an SPF of 15 and an Oil Free Night Treatment (moisturizer)made for acne prone skin. If you don't mind spending the money their entire acne line is the best combination of products on the market. These should last you four to six months.

Please do not use petroleum jelly on your skin. It can cause long term damage to your skin. Think about it. Gasoline and motor oil are both petroleum products.

Answer 2

I think they are both pretty strong, I have tried both and found Benzyl Peroxide to be more effective with less applications, so perhaps that's slightly better? I don't know of a sunscreen unfortunately, but they recommend you don't go in the sun with them so perhaps you can wear a hat instead? Sometimes they can react really badly with sunlight, and your skin is much more sensitive too. I had really bad sunburn once because I'd been using the cremes and then sat outside only for half an hour (not with the creme still on mind!) but it still made my face too sensitive to sunlight. One thing though, if you are 35 and still have acne, have you spoken to your Doctor? If you haven't investigated already, please do, if you can....it is likely there is an underlying cause, usually hormonal, and if you can it's better to treat the cause rather than the symptoms. There is a very very popular problem with young women called "Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome", and one of it's leading symptoms is acne. It is something which can hardly have any symptoms or it can really bother women a lot, depending on each case, but they say that most young women with acne have this "PCOS" without realizing it. Just worth mentioning it just in case? Perhaps good to see the Doc anyway....if you haven't already :-)

Answer 3

Hi,....I'm a senior medical student....

Treating acne is not a one medicine regimen neither 2....Correct acne treatment is as follows:

1-Oral antibiotic.
2-Local antibiotic.
3-Benzoyl peroxide gel(once a day /morning).
4-Retin-A-gel(once a day before going to bed).

Acne treatment should have all these medicines all together...the treatment could take from 2-10 weeks!! Thats why many acne patients loose their patience and stop the treatment ...this is wrong...the acne will come back even worse.
Note: It is very normal with Retin-A-Gel and Benzoyl peroxide gel ..that the acne will be irritated and start to itch and be very red!! This is normal ...dont panic....

*****Very important note: I didnt specify the kind of anibiotics...because u simply should go to a dermatoligist..this is the only correct thing for u to do now.Prescribing medicines online is incorect and may cause u serious health risks....because every person has his own case and upon full examination should the medicine be prescribed.For example,..if I prescribe u a specific antibiotic..and u r ,by any chance, sensitive to it..you may have serious side effects.Not to mention that many dermatological pathologies look like acne exactly but are not..so pls go and see a dermatologist.

Answer 4

Based on personal experience, I've found benzoyl peroxide to work better. Neither of them are pleasant and both can be drying (although if your skin is oily I wouldn't worry) but the benzoyl works better overall. I would try Proactiv if you haven't yet tried it. For a moisurizer, try the Proactiv spf moisturizer- it won't make you breakout. You can get it on their website.

Answer 5

I love the pimple eraser stick (Walgreen's) it's glycolic acid, (gentler than salicylic acid) and it really does work fast. It also promotes cell turn over which does help improve the appearance of lines and rougher surfaces. I pair that with alpha hydrox cream and I rarely breakout and the blackheads are completely gone (it took a few months for those to go away)

Answer 6

BP is more strong and usually works better for normal skin, if your skin is on the dry side use SA because it will dry the skin less but they both work the same way.
Use SA then BP after this is the highest recommended way from Proactiv and many companies.

Answer 7

I know this sounds crazy, but have you tried working petroleum jelly into your skin, covering with a warm damp towel, then toweling it off and using witch hazel to wash away the residue?

It seems that the oil in the petroleum jelly can dissolve and remove the oils from the skin, and the witch hazel (available at most drug stores) takes away the oil and impurities.

Try it and let me know if it helps you.