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yes aspirin mask is reasonable for treatment of Acne. Clarification: Why does it work? I know that the active ingredient in aspirin is salicylic acid. I know further that the same is the active ingredient in many anti-acne creams (such as that of Clearasil, Nutragena, etc.). So intiutively, it seems an aspirin mask should help. However, I also know that salicylic acid is very non-soluble. So creating a paste of aspirin powder and water should create something that leaves the salicylic acid mostly non-available to the skin, i.e., not dissolved in the water. So why should it work well? Perhaps other ingredients are needed to make the active ingredient more bio-available? Anyone have concrete information about this? Further Clarification: The active ingredient in aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid. In the presence of water at a neutral pH, this compound will hydrolyze to salicylic acid and acetic acid to a very small extent. It is likely that aspirin masks are only safe because this hydrolysis is very minimal in water of a neutral pH.

It is precisely because salicylic acid is lipid-soluble that it is so effective treating acne at very low concentrations. The acid is able to dissolve in the sebum and penetrate into pores to exert its exfoliating effects.

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16y ago

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