Question:
I’ve tried different OTC (over-the-counter) acne treatments,
but seem to always react to them. What are the possible reasons
my skin reacts to treatments I’m putting on my skin?
Answer:
One of the wonderful things in life is that everybody is uniquely
different. Some are tall, some petite. Some extroverted, some
shy. Some blonde, some brunette.
In
a similar way, there are differences between individuals in terms
of how their skin responds to stimuli. For example, some will
get goose bumps and feel cold if the AC is just a bit too cool
– yet others will venture outdoors on a winter day with
a T-shirt on!
So
it should come as no surprise that your skin may respond to things
you put on it differently than other people’s skin does.
When
it comes to acne treatment, everybody’s skin will become
irritated by the medication if the concentration of the medication
gets strong enough. It’s built in to the way that the medication
works. But the level required to cause a reaction varies from
individual to individual. For better or for worse, you’re
apparently one of those that doesn’t require as high a level
to bring on the irritation.
The
most common agent to cause irritation in the process of treating
acne is benzoyl peroxide (BP). The reason is fairly simple. BP
is a strong oxidizer, which means that it works great for killing
the bacteria involved in acne. But, unfortunately, that same oxidizing
power that kills bacterial cells can also be quite damaging to
your skin’s own cells. As they become damaged, the skin
becomes red, dry and flaky.
If
possible, the trick is to use the BP medication at a strong enough
concentration to kill the bacteria – but mild enough not
to cause too much damage to your own cells. Manufacturers of acne
treatments try to find the levels that do just that. For example,
Proactiv uses BP at a concentration of 2.5%. And Acne Free uses
it at 3.7%. But because of the wide range in people’s skin
and their sensitivities, it’s virtually impossible for one
set concentration to work for everyone.
That’s
precisely the reason for AcneRecovery’s unique approach
to treatment. With its adjustable dial, you can set the Treatment
Lotion to deliver BP at a concentration of your choice –
anywhere from 2.0% to 7.0%. For most people who’ve had difficulty
with sensitivity to acne treatment, AcneRecovery’s adjustability
enables them to use treatment at a level that doesn’t cause
excessive irritation to their skin.
Another
issue with BP is that, in most products, your skin gets hit with
pretty much all of the BP at one time. As discussed above, that
one-time wave of BP can be very irritating in its effect.
Imagine,
though, if you could gradually release the BP onto the skin over
a longer period of time. In that case, because there wouldn’t
be the large initial impact of all the BP at one time, you would
expect the medication to be better tolerated.
In fact, the technology exists to enable a gradual time-release
approach to treatment with BP. Half of the BP in AcneRecovery’s
Treatment Lotion is precisely that time-release version. The resulting
gradual exposure of the skin to BP makes the product better-tolerated
by many who have had trouble with the ‘instant-release’
versions commonly used.
The
other major medication used in OTC treatment of acne is salicylic
acid (SA). Fortunately, for most people, it tends to be less irritating
than BP. Nonetheless, it does have the capacity to irritate skin,
particularly as the concentration of medication in a product increases.
The
use of adjustability in AcneRecovery’s Repair Lotion allows
users to minimize the potential irritation of SA in the same manner
as the Treatment Lotion’s benzoyl peroxide. The concentration
of SA in the Repair Lotion can be adjusted from 0.5% to 2.0%,
the entire range the FDA recognizes as appropriate for OTC treatment
of acne.
If
you have a question that you haven't been able to find an answer
to on this site, please send your question about acne to Dr.
Wilkinson.
