Benefits: Acne treatment, oil control, soothing, repair, and brightening

Key ingredients: Spanish sage seed extract, salicylic acid, etc.

 

This One Leaf Acne-Fighting Little Green Bottle serum features a scientifically formulated concentration of salicylic acid. It gently combats spots, controls oil and soothes the skin, whilst simultaneously exfoliating and repairing—clearing spots without damaging your complexion. It’s an absolute must-have for ‘mountain folk’ who work themselves to the bone and pull all-nighters!

 

Salicylic acid is a particularly effective ingredient for treating spots, which is why many brands like to include it in their spot-fighting products. Take the two products below, for example—they’ve both received excellent feedback on the market.

◎ La Roche-Posay K Serum

Benefits: Oil control, pore minimisation, blackhead removal, spot treatment, acne treatment

Key ingredients: Salicylic acid, octanoic acid, vitamin E, carnosine, etc.

 

This 1.8% compound salicylic acid K serum from La Roche-Posay is also a popular salicylic acid product on the market. Formulated with salicylic acid, octanoic acid, vitamin E and carnosine, it effectively regulates oil and moisture balance, eliminates potential micro-comedones, treats closed comedones to prevent recurrence, prevents blackheads from forming, and restores healthy skin.

 

◎ New Clinique Exfoliating Anti-Acne Treatment

Benefits: Oil control, acne treatment, improvement of closed comedones, balancing the skin’s microbiome

Key Ingredients: Salicylic acid, Lactobacillus ferment, sodium hyaluronate, caffeine, etc.

 

The Clinique Exfoliating Acne Treatment also contains salicylic acid, which unclogs pores, improves acne and blocked pores, purifies the skin, exfoliates dead skin cells, and removes excess oil, whilst maintaining skin stability without causing irritation!

As you can see, salicylic acid is highly effective at exfoliating and unclogging pores. It dissolves the substances that bind keratinocytes together, causing the stratum corneum to shed, removing excess build-up of dead skin cells and promoting cell renewal.

 

It is widely used in the market and has been well-received by consumers.

 

On the ‘Beauty Journey’ safety scale, it is rated 1–3, making it a safe and gentle ingredient!

◎ Challenges in using salicylic acid: Prone to crystallisation and precipitation

 

Salicylic acid has poor water solubility in formulations and tends to precipitate rapidly in water. This requires the addition of large amounts of solvents, such as ethanol, and makes it difficult to formulate at high concentrations.

★★★ Solving the problem of crystallisation and precipitation

Nano Salicylic Acid Nano-Gel utilises a network structure formed by the intertwining of poloxamer block copolymers to encapsulate the salicylic acid. The encapsulated salicylic acid nano-gel effectively resolves the issue of crystallisation and precipitation; aqueous dispersions of all concentrations remain free from crystallisation and discolouration, whilst maintaining the high activity of the salicylic acid.

 

★★★ Physical Encapsulation: Gentle and Safe

Encapsulation is achieved through the intertwining of temperature-sensitive non-ionic surfactant molecules, without the formation of any new compounds; furthermore, the primary emulsifier, poloxamer, is safe and non-toxic, and the encapsulation process reduces the irritancy of salicylic acid.

 

★★★ Long-lasting, sustained-release action

The encapsulated salicylic acid nanogel exhibits a long-lasting, sustained-release effect, which further reduces the irritation caused by salicylic acid.

 

★★★ Improved permeability and absorption

The non-ionic block copolymer structure of poloxamer enhances the permeability of salicylic acid into the skin, facilitating its absorption and thereby improving its acne-fighting efficacy.

 

★★★ Clear and transparent, with high compatibility

Both the undiluted product and aqueous dispersions of various concentrations are transparent and can be added directly after dispersion in water. Suitable for serums, gels, lotions, creams and various transparent formulations.