Salicylic Acid for Acne Treatment

My fiancée put me onto this product a few years ago. I wish I knew about this solution in my younger days when I was more acne prone. It has quickly become a go-to for the occasional acne spot treatment.

I usually mooch off of her bottle when in need. She typically keeps a 2% solution by The Ordinary in her medicine cabinet. A small drop helps to reduce the inflammation from acne making it less noticeable. I typically like to wait for pimples to heal on their own but the few times I do pop them I’ve noticed that applying salicylic acid afterwards helps in reducing overall redness and swelling.

Salicylic acid definitely dries out my skin in the applied area especially on drier/less humid days. This sometimes results in tiny spots of flaky/ashy skin. When this does occur for me I apply a tiny amount of lotion to smooth things out.

***Edit: I definitely overdid it one day and applied multiple times throughout a day. The over application plus slight sun exposure caused a burn on my skin. As soon as I noticed burning I stopped applying and dabbed it with a very light amount of aquaphor. It luckily scabbed over and healed within a few days. BEWARE, MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER….