Disclaimer: This is not medical advice and you should always consult your pharmacist/dermatologist before using/starting any of these OTCs!
Let’s talk acne, from a 4th year St. John’s pharmacy student. We all know acne never goes away and even amplifies throughout our hormonal menstrual cycle, but one of my favorite Drugs & Diseases courses was on the skin! This is where I learned the true pharmacological ways of treating acne with all the OTCs available in the pharmacies before the dermatologist visit step!Â
First let’s start about general skin care:Â
- Extra cleaning doesn’t help and can even irritate your skinÂ
- Always buy water-based cosmetic products(oil blocks pores which causes extra bacteria to be trapped on your skin allowing for a breading ground for acne)
- Soap choice should be based on your skin/acne type. For acne which is non-inflammatory it’s recommended to use a mild abrasive cleanser that allows for exfoliation which reduces hyperpigmentation/scarring, but for inflammatory(red,puss filed,broken skin)/dry skin, always use a gentle cleanser.
Let’s move on to the format of the skin care products., Ever wondered what type of format (cream,lotion,gels,ect) to buy your moisturizer in? It all depends on your skin type! For dry skin the best format is…LOTION! Meanwhile for oily skin, the best format is…GELS! Fun fact: Gels provide the most release of active ingredients! Which is why I would recommend anyone with normal skin type, although any formate can be used, to use gel formate for the added pharmacological effect.
Now for the pharmacological approaches: It’s generally recommended to “start low and end slow”, meaning although all these products work on acne, it’s better to start off with 1 product and then switch to another product, rather than combining therapies when the same result could have been achieved with less products. It is generally recommended to start with a Benzyl peroxide 4 percent (an antimicrobial) which is the viral tiktok product, Panoxyl! Increasing the potency of the active ingredient for anything more than 4 percent will cause irritation and achieve no added benefits, so don’t fall for the marketing schemes!
The next step is to switch to Adapalene 0.1 percent (a comedolytic/stronger retinol active ingredient) which is another viral product, Differin! These over the counters should always be used for 3 months with consistent use before switching to the other if wanted results are not achieved. If after the switch, with another 3 months use and no benefits still shown, then it’s recommended to combine the products.
Let’s talk about the most popular skin care ingredients, salicylic acid and azelaic acid! Salicylic acid and azelaic acid are found in many OTCs however these ingredients are “Conditional recommendation in favor of the intervention” (meaning it may work for some but not others and it’s recommended for certain people since they can cause irritation. Sometimes the bad can out way the good, although most of the time the good out ways the bad). These OTCs, although milder than prescription drugs, can definitely improve your skin if you are struggling with mild acne!