Learn About Benzoyl Peroxide

Ladies, you will often use a clindamycin and benzoyl peroxide topical gel. This is a common treatment for acne! That said, you do have OTC acne treatments with benzoyl peroxide in them available too. All of these are effective. Of course, you have to know how this ingredient works first to make sure you get the best benzoyl peroxide product for your needs!

How It Works

Ladies, benzoyl peroxide is a great medication! This ingredient works by killing bacteria on your skin. It gets rid of Cutibacterium acnes, which is a major acne trigger. Your skin absorbs it once you apply it. Then, benzoyl peroxide turns into benzoic acid! Ladies, you absorb about 5 percent of this. Your kidneys will get rid of it through your pee.

Cysteine in your skin metabolizes the remaining 95 percent! The ultimate result is bacteria protein oxidization. This medication also works to reduce P. acnes, free fatty acids, and lipids in your skin. Finally, it stimulates granulation tissue growth and the epithelium's ingrowth too!

Uses

Most of you, ladies, will use benzoyl peroxide as an acne treatment! It's a common ingredient in many OTC acne cleansers and spot treatments. These products will treat mild acne! Of course, you can get prescription products for severe acne. Most of the prescriptions combine benzoyl peroxide with something else. Two examples are retinoids and antibiotics! Ladies, your breakouts won't appear as bad or as often when you use benzoyl peroxide. Of course, it can take up to 10 weeks for the best benefits to appear.

This one has 'off-label' uses too. It works on rosacea, pitted keratolysis, and folliculitis. Of course, there are many more 'off-label' uses. You have to talk to your doctor about them! Review why your doctor is recommending this 'off-label' instead of another medication or treatment.

Side Effects

Ladies, you need to expect some side effects with benzoyl peroxide! The common ones are dry, flaky, and red skin. Peeling skin is possible as well, along with rough skin patches. Thankfully, these side effects go away in a few weeks. Your skin has to adjust to using this medication! It dries your skin out a little more than other acne treatments. The higher percentage of benzoyl peroxide, the more likely this is to happen.

Some of you will see some redness, burning, and itching right after you apply this medication. This goes away in a few minutes. However, if blisters, severe redness, and bad skin irritation appear, call your doctor right away! Do this for an allergic reaction too. It's rare, but it happens! Signs of an allergic reaction include tongue swelling, hives, and problems breathing.

Precautions

Start using benzoyl peroxide slowly. Try every other day at first for a week or two. Ladies, this is how you avoid skin irritation and other side effects! Use a lot of moisturizer to help as well. Buffering works wonders! This is when you apply moisturizer before your benzoyl peroxide. Letting your skin adjust is the best thing to do.

Don't forget to wear sunscreen every day. Ladies, benzoyl peroxide increases your sensitivity to the sun. It's even more important to wear your sunscreen because of this! be careful with your clothes too. Sadly, this medication will stain them! Try putting your clothes on before applying benzoyl peroxide. And, of course, wash your hands with some soap and water immediately afterward.

Medication Interactions

Ladies, go over your medications with your doctor before adding benzoyl peroxide. Make sure you look at acne medications and skincare products here! Your doctor will help you avoid interactions and more side effects. Ladies, this one interacts with lots of topical medications, like dapsone, tretinoin, and adapalene. It also interacts with trifarotene and isotretinoin! All of these medications treat acne. Some of these interactions are unsafe. However, others can be used in the same routine at different times! This often means using one in the morning and one at night. Of course, different doses also help you avoid side effects most of the time.