Recently I’ve been struggling with a bit of a breakout on my face. I haven’t had this throughout high-school so I had absolutely no clue what to do about it. After researching a little I found out that salicylic acid can help clear your skin so I decided to order a bottle of it. I ended up buying one by The Ordinary called the Salicylic Acid 2% solution. I’ve been trying it for a couple of weeks now which means it’s finally time for the review. If you’re interested in finding out whether or not this ended up being the key to clear skin for me, make sure you continue reading!
Let’s start off by discussing the packaging like we usually do. Most The Ordinary products come in a matte glass bottle with a dropper that contains 30ml of product. This one comes in a similar packaging but it’s a bit smaller. This one actually contains 15 ml. I think the reason for that is because you don’t need as much of it as you do with the other products, but I’m not sure whether or not that idea is true.
Anyway, the packaging is classic The Ordinary and as you guys know I really like that. It’s clean, it’s classic and it’s simple. It’s to the point and that’s exactly what The Ordinary is all about. It is what it is and nothing more or less than that.
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution – €4,90
This product is very affordable like all other The Ordinary products. Especially if you compare it to other brands. Because I have never tried any other salicylic acid I can’t tell you guys if the price difference also means a difference in effect or quality of the product, but what I can tell you is whether or not this product is effective and what you can expect from it, so that’s what I’m going to do right now.
According to The Ordinary this Salicylic Acid is a beta hydroxyl acid that exfoliates the skin. This 2% treatment solution helps exfoliate the inside walls of pores to fight the appearance of blemishes and for better visible skin clarity with continued use.
In other words this is a solution, not pure salicylic acid, that will fight the appearance of blemishes. With that they are trying to say that it doesn’t fight the blemishes itself, but the visible results of a blemish. This will result in visibly skin clarity. So just to be clear: this is not something that will actively fight acne and therefore this isn’t the right product to use if you are trying to fight extensive or persisting acne.
Having said that let’s quickly go over what salicylic acid actually is. Salicylic acid is an acid that has the same anti-inflammatory effects as aspirin. It breaks up the cells which stick together in the inner lining of the skin pore and thereby it declogs blackheads and whiteheads. Salicylic acid has a peeling effect. This helps to jump start the acne healing process.
Aside from that salicylic acid in liquid form can be used to treat a variety of skin issues duo to its antibacterial and drying effects. The drying effect is part of what causes the imperfection to visibly decrease.
People with oily and acne-prone skin benefit from salicylic acid because it loosens blackheads and because it reduces oil and discolouration from previous breakouts.
All of that does sound pretty promising, but does it actually work? That’s the question here. From what I’ve experienced the past couple of weeks this product does make a difference. I apply this on my breakout-areas before I go to bed and it has definitely has made my skin look a lot more clear. The pimples that were about to come up were completely gone and didn’t end up coming through and the ones that were already there have become a lot smaller and less out there. Only one pimple has grown but after a day or two that one, too, got way less visible.
The effect of this product on the skin was visible after using the product a day or two, but that doesn’t mean you can put it away after that. Continued use it recommended if you want the results to stay. If the pimple is completely gone you can obviously stop putting it on that area, but if it’s almost gone you definitely have to continue putting it on there to get it to disappear completely. If you don’t it will come back.
Overall this product isn’t a disappointment for me. It has made my skin appear more clear and it did reduce the amount of imperfections I have on my skin. It’s not a product that will clear up your skin in a matter of hours, but it isn’t as agressive as a product that would be able to do that. Anyway, it’s very effective for making your skin appear more clear and it’s great at fighting the appearance of blemishes and therefore I highly recommend giving this product a go if you’re on the hunt for something that will clear your skin!
And that’s about it for today’s post. I hope you enjoyed reading it and be sure to let me know what you use to fight blemishes!
XOXO, Nicole.
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