Get Rid of a Spot Quickly and Easily Using Salicylic Acid

Got a pesky spot or blemish, which has come up at the most inconvenient time? Got a date or a special event in a couple of days? Salicylic acid is a great topical treatment for acne. Note that that this will not work in just a couple of hours. No such medicine exists. It may work overnight, if you are lucky, but in most cases it takes at least two to three days for the spot to fade. However, if you follow the steps at night, when you wake up in the morning you should see a slight improvement in the appearance of your blemish.

Steps

Getting the Right Supplies

  1. Buy some salicylic acid. Visit your local drugstore to by the appropriate items. Keep in mind that salicylic acid comes in a topical form, but can also be found in ointments, soaps, cleansing scrubs, and presoaked pads. In general, cleansing scrubs are not suited for acne prone skin types. It is also available in a variety of strengths — the strongest of which require a doctor or dermatologist’s prescription. Speak to your doctor if you have chronic acne. If you just have one spot and generally do not experience dermatological issues, then a moderate salicylic acid is right for you.
    • Begin with a 15% concentration if you just have the occasional spots. It might take a couple of weeks for your skin to get used to this acid. If after a couple of weeks, you don’t experience intense dry skin, you can move up to 20 or 25% mixtures.[1]
  2. Get some Q-tips and cotton pads. These will serve as your applicators. You don’t want to put the salicylic acid on with your finger as this will only introduce more bacteria to your already damaged skin. Alternatively, the salicylic acid may damage your fingers as well. Tissue paper can be used instead, but some people complain that their tissue doesn’t allow for targeted application.[2]
  3. Find a medicated face wash. In general, you want to buy something made for deep pore cleansing. The salicylic acid will clean the surface of your skin and work on sloughing off dead skin cells on your skin’s surface (reducing the redness in the process), but it won’t clean into your pores. [3]
  4. Purchase a light facial moisturizer. You are going to apply an acid to your face. This will cause its own kind of damage, most notably, it will dry your skin out. You’ll want to replace natural oils to your skin for a healthy glow. Make sure that you purchase a moisturizer that works for your skin. For example, if you normally have dry skin, you’ll want a heavy-duty moisturizer. If you normally have very oily skin, you’ll want a lighter moisturizer.[4]

Using Salicylic Acid as a Topic Treatment

  1. Wash your face before using the salicylic acid. Apply some face wash/scrub to your face and your neck, if it is an affected area. Work into a lather. Leave for a couple of moments, then rinse well with cool, but not cold, water. When all of the wash has been rinsed off, splash your face with cold water; make it as cold as you can stand it. Do this for a minute or two to close the pores.
    • If you have an astringent, apply some to the cotton wool and sweep gently over the face. Generally, dermatologists argue that astringents shouldn't be used by people with chronic acne as they can dry out the skin too much.
    • If you just have one spot to target, then simply hold the cotton wool soaked with astringent on the spot for a minute or two. No need to rinse it off. Do the same with the witch hazel/toner/alcohol.[5]
  2. Apply some salicylic acid to one end of your Q tip. If you have bought the cotton pads, a clever tip is to simply 'poke' one of the pads with the Q tip, so that some of the product transfers to the Q tip. However, if you have a large area to target, simply use a pad or a cotton wool pad with salicylic acid on it. You can purchase these separately.[6]
  3. Let it dry. Do not wipe it prematurely or the acid may not have had a chance to work its magic. Normally, salicylic acid dries in around 30 seconds to one minute. Take this time to discard your used Q-tip and any other toiletries you may have needed to apply the acid.
  4. Use a light moisturizer. The biggest side effect from salicylic acid is dry and flaky skin. You effectively change out a acne “spot” for a big flake of dry skin. That’s not what you want. Remember that salicylic acid is a powerful acne fighting tool, but is just one thing in your face-care repertoire. Coconut oil based moisturizers are a great choice because of their natural anti-bacterial properties.[1]
  5. Repeat as directed. You can apply lighter dosages of salicylic acid two or three times a day if needed. For prescription strength, you’ll do it less frequently. Pay close attention to the guidelines on the particular product you purchase.[6]
    • Keep in mind that it may take up to three weeks for your face to respond to the salicylic acid.[6]

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.bona-fide-skincare.com/salicylic-acid-peel.html
  2. ↑ http://www.skinacea.com/how-to/use-chemical-peels.html#.VbkJ8XiH2cM
  3. ↑ http://www.skinacea.com/how-to/pick-right-cleanser.html#.VbkEZniH2cM
  4. ↑ http://www.skinacea.com/how-to/choose-moisturizer-part-one.html#.VbkEJniH2cM
  5. ↑ http://www.bustle.com/articles/24800-20-skincare-mistakes-that-are-damaging-your-face
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a607072.html
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