Essential Tips for Choosing the Right Skin Care Products for You: Part I

Anyone who is concerned about their skin care knows the overwhelming experience that choosing the right product can create.  For some, obtaining clear skin isn’t a simple feat; it takes a sincere approach to understanding how skin care ingredients and products affect your skin.  However, with a quick vocabulary lesson on three essential skin care ingredients, you’ll be able to walk into any drug or grocery store and make the right choice for you and your skin.

Salicylic Acid, Benzoyl Peroxide and Retinol

These three words are commonly thrown-around when it comes to discussing skin care products.  But you probably find yourself asking, “What do they mean and how will they affect my skin?”  These three compounds: salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and retinol, are essential in preserving your skin and preventing blemishes.

Salicylic acid works as an exfoliant and helps slough off skin cells, preventing clogged pores.

• Benzoyl peroxide acts as an anti-bacterial agent that has drying side effects.  It also helps to keep pores clear of blemish-causing bacteria by introducing oxygen into your pores and destroying the bacteria that grows in an anaerobic environment.  Typical products include anywhere from 2.5 to 10% of the compound.  To start, try a product with a moderate strength of benzoyl peroxide and adjust your strength as necessary.  Monitor how much of the product you apply and its effects on your skin to find the right balance.
• And finally, retinol.  Retinol is often found in creams applied as a final step in your skin care routine at night.  Retinol promotes the turnover of skin cells, reducing pore clogging and the subsequent formation of new blackheads.  The compound also has an anti-inflammatory effect and is known to reduce the redness of pimples and blemishes.

Though these three important ingredients come in different skin care products, it is important to know what each ingredient does.  By knowing the basics of each, you can make an informed decision when choosing skin care products in the grocery or drug store.  Next week we will explore skin care products and how to find the right product for you and your skin.  If you would like to learn more about choosing the right skin care products for you, schedule an appointment with Anne Arundel Dermatology today.