Skincare is chemistry, and chemistry has some basics. One of them is, don’t mix things you’re not supposed to mix!
Remember, you’re not a chemist or a biologist, and do you really want your face to be the epicentre of a lab experiment gone wrong?
Salicylic acid is a wonderful ingredient for the skin, especially when it comes to acne and skin irritation, if you want some more information about it you can refer to this article. But remember, caution is key!
Here are a few ingredients you should, as a rule of thumb, never ever mix with salicylic acid.
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Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a great natural brightening ingredient for hyperpigmentation and acne scarring. It also helps naturally protect your skin against the sun. But, if you mix it with harsher acids like salicylic acid or any other beta-hydroxy acids, you will be making a major skincare faux pas.
Overstimulating your skin with acids will lead to irritation and redness at best, and major breakouts at the worst, so be very, very cautious.
2. Glycolic Acid
While this is a great ingredient for chemical exfoliation, especially for Indian skin types, it has to be kept in mind that at the end of the day exfoliation while you’re already subjecting your skin to salicylic acid which is a beta hydroxy acid is a bad idea.
If you have ever had the misfortune to go through that exfoliation-obsession phase when you were a teenager, you know exactly what the consequences are– beautiful, baby soft skin for the first few days, which would reinforce your belief that what you are doing is right, and later followed up by horrible breakouts, redness, irritation, and even acne so bad that you’re left with scars years later.
So, yeah, in short, bad idea.
3. Benzoyl Peroxide
Benzoyl peroxide is a medical-grade skincare ingredient often prescribed to treat really bad acne cases. That, and salicylic acid, are the only two ingredients proven time and again to work on effectively reducing acne both in short term and long term usage.
But benzoyl peroxide is extremely harsh on the skin, and if prescribed by a dermatologist, then by all means, use it but do not mix it with salicylic acid. It is going to make your skin extremely dry, sensitive and break out more. No one likes to trade in one skin problem for another!
Here is DermDoc’s guide to salicylic acid to understand how to correctly use this really great skincare ingredient!