Salicylic acid has been used to treat various skin conditions for many years. It is actively used to treat acne, melasma, skin photodamage, freckles and lentigo.
Salicylic acid is safe for all skin phototypes, which has been repeatedly confirmed by scientific studies, however, side effects may occur if this substance is not used correctly. On estet-portal.com read more about the features of the use of salicylic acid, as well as about the main mechanisms of its effect on the skin.
History of the use of salicylic acid in medicine
Salicylic acid belongs to a group of compounds known as hydroxy acids, which are widely used in cosmetics. It has been used topically to treat various skin conditions for over 2000 years.
As early as the first century AD, Pliny used willow bark (as a source of salicylic acid) to treat warts and calluses.
The German physician Buechner isolated salicin from willow bark in the late 1820s for use in dermatological practice. The ability of this substance to soften and exfoliate the stratum corneum was discovered in the 1860s.
Salicylic peeling for gentle and effective skin cleansing
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Salicylic acid is a fat-soluble agent, unlike α-hydroxy acids (such as glycolic acid), and therefore mixes with epidermal and sebaceous lipids in hair follicles. It has keratolytic and comedolytic properties, reduces sebum secretion in acne patients.
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As a lipophilic agent, salicylic acid removes intercellular lipids that are covalently bound to the cornified membrane surrounding superficial epithelial cells. This anti-hyperplastic effect of salicylic acid on the epidermis is used by many dermatologists when performing chemical skin peels.
Mechanisms of action of salicylic acid on the skin
The cohesion of epidermal cells in the skin depends on desmosomes, which contain many proteins, including desmogleins. Salicylic acid has been found to break them down, resulting in sloughing of the epidermal cells.
Salicylic acid should be considered a desmolytic rather than a keratolytic agent, since the mechanism of action of salicylic acid is that it works by disrupting cellular junctions rather than lysing intercellular keratin filaments.
When studying histological changes in the skin of hairless mice after peeling with salicylic acid, the loss of keratinized cells was determined, followed by the activation of epidermal basal cells and underlying fibroblasts.
Thus, peeling with salicylic acid does not damage the skin, but rather stimulates its recovery and regeneration.
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