Salicylic acid is a colorless ingredient used in exfoliation and acne products.  Salicylic acid is a beta hydroxy acid, naturally occurring in white willow bark and wintergreen leaves.  Salicylic acid can also be created in laboratories.  Salicylic acid has bacteriostatic and keratolytic action.  A bacteriostatic agent is a biological or chemical agent that stops bacteria from reproducing.  Keratolytic therapy causes the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin, to loosen and shed.

You may see a lot of talk by dermatologists and bloggers about salicylic acid for skin care.  That’s because salicylic acid has many benefits for maintaining beautiful, healthy skin:

• Promotes exfoliation, helping skin to shed dead skin cells and keep pores clear.
• Softens and loosens dry, scaly, or thickened skin
• Acts as an anti-inflammatory agent, reducing swelling and redness
• Unplugs blocked skin pores to allow pimples to shrink
• Decreases sebum secretion, decreases oil
• Penetrates the follicle, helping other acne-fighting ingredients to penetrate the skin

The strength of the salicylic acid you want to purchase depends upon what you want to accomplish.  For mild exfoliation, use a product with a lower percentage of salicylic acid.  For tough acne, use a higher percentage.  Most widely available skin products containing salicylic acid range from 0.5% to 2.0%.  Stridex understands the amount of salicylic acid matters and that’s why Stridex offers both a 0.5% pad (Stridex Sensitive) and 2.0% pad (Stridex Maximum).  The choice is in your hands.