Benzoyl peroxide has become somewhat of a boogieman in the natural acne treatment movement. And there’s no shortage of myths like ‘my skin gets addicted to BP’ and ‘when you quit your acne comes back with a vengeance’. As with all myths, there’s grain of truth in those, but they are ultimately based on misconceptions. I think this is sad, because these myths cause people to shun this cheap and potentially effective acne treatment.
There are, of course, legitimate reasons to avoid benzoyl peroxide, such as allergy, but I believe most people shun it for the wrong reasons. So give me a few minutes and I’ll do my best to set straight some of the myths. And once I’m done ‘promoting’ it, let me tell you why I quit it and some experiences after it.
What BP does and how it works
According to Wikipedia benzoyl peroxide is an organic compound of the peroxide family. Upon contact with the skin it breaks into benzoic acid and oxygen, and this oxygen acts as a free radical in the skin destroying cells and bacteria it comes in contact with.
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Read moreTo understand why it works we should take a moment to understand the earliest stages of the acne formation process. As a skin pore gets blocked because of excess keratin, sebum and dead skin cells, it forms a microcomedo, basically just a fancy medical term for a blocked pore. At this stage there are still no (abnormally high numbers of) bacteria in the microcomedo, they will set up a shop little bit later.
BP can prevent acne at this stage because the oxidizing action destroys the cells that block the skin pore. At later stages of acne formation it can control inflammation – by destroying the white blood cells that trigger the inflammatory process.
It’s not exactly a precision weapon, and I have to admit there’s certain appeal in this blunt force approach. Regardless, there’s no denying the fact that BP works. It’s one of the most successful acne treatments ever discovered.
Almost everybody uses it the wrong way
Unfortunately most acne treatments use benzoyl peroxide the wrong way. Their idea for treating acne is to heap BP on top of BP and finish it off with a little bit more of BP. It’s almost as if these people believe acne is caused by lack of BP on your face!
Researchers and dermatologists have long believed that the P. Acnes bacteria initiate and cause acne, and therefore a lot of the research has been focused on ways to kill it. But already 50 years ago there was data to show this view is incomplete and misses the point on acne. That it was oxidative (or inflammatory) damage to the fatty acids in sebum that starts acne. In doing research for my book I’ve read several studies that show inflammation contributes to both excess keratin and sebum production. And biopsies have shown inflammatory damage even in the earliest stages of the acne formation process.
Not to mention that many modern studies call into question the role of bacteria in causing acne, such as this one.
Comedogenesis appears to be independent of bacterial infection and may be driven by high levels of bioactive interleukin-1α derived from ductal hyperkeratinocytes.
Eady E, et al. Is Acne an Infection of Blocked Pilosebaceous Follicles?: Implications for Antimicrobial Treatment. American Journal of Clinical Dermatology. July/August 2000 – Volume 1 – Issue 4 – pp 201-209.
This is not to say that bacteria don’t affect acne. They absolute do have a role to play, but it only comes later when the comedo has formed. They colonize the blocked pore later and in doing so ramp up inflammation in the area.
The problem with heaping BP on top of BP to treat acne is that it misses the mark on how acne forms. It can still be effective, but in doing so you are subjecting your skin to a lot of unnecessary stress. And this is how a lot of those misconceptions about BP are born. If you rely too much on it, you aren’t really taking care of your skin. What you are doing is ‘nuking’ away the problem. And because your skin is not in good condition, your acne will come back worse when you stop using BP.
The role of antioxidants
Luckily there’s a better way. Much better way. If you treat acne ‘the right way’, before it even gets a chance to form, you can save your skin a lot of trouble and you don’t have to worry about the post-BP mess on your face.
As I mentioned above, there’s good evidence to show that we can cast the blame for acne on inflammation. This initial inflammation stimulates keratin and sebum producing cells to ramp up production that then leads to a blocked pore. It also consumes oxygen from the blocked pore and thus creates the ideal environment for P. Acnes bacteria to thrive.
This theory states that if you could protect your skin from inflammation you could prevent acne. And there are quite a few studies that show this indeed is the case – at least to a degree. For example, studies have pitted vitamin B3 and vitamin C derivate sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) head to head against both benzoyl peroxide and topical antibiotics. While not conclusive, the results from these studies are encouraging. Both B3 and SAP have been found equally effective or even better than BP or topical antibiotics, the current gold standards in acne treatment. I should say that I’m talking about topical application of vitamin B3 and SAP, not supplements.
The right way to use BP
Though the results from these studies are encouraging, I don’t mean to say that antioxidants can completely prevent acne. Perhaps for some people they can, but I still think in most people they can cut down on your acne a lot but don’t get rid of it completely.
And that’s where the smart use of benzoyl peroxide comes into play. Instead of heaping on BP on top of BP, I think it’s a far better idea to use it ‘strategically’. To use it little bit to open the skin pores that got blocked despite the antioxidants and to keep bacteria under control. This way your skin doesn’t get ‘addicted’ to BP and quitting it won’t make a complete mess of your face. You aren’t relying on BP completely, you are just using it to finish the job.
This is also the reason I like Exposed Skincare and keep promoting it on this blog. I don’t pretend that it’s perfect. I still think it relies a little too much on BP and salicylic acid, but those are balanced with green tea and other antioxidants. So it should be far gentles of your skin than Proactiv or other acne treatment brands.
My experience in quitting BP
To put my money where my mouth is, I stopped using BP a couple of weeks ago. Mostly out of curiosity. I wanted to see what would happen to my skin after I stopped using it. To see what the fuss about it is. I wasn’t using a lot of it. I only applied 2.5% BP cream once a day, and 30 minutes later I followed it up with an antioxidant cream that contains green tea and resveratrol and little bit of tea tree oil. So I was doing what I’m recommending you to do, and BP wasn’t a huge part of my skin care regimen. I also wanted to see how much of my success was due to BP and how much was due to the other things I’m doing.
As I was using BP my skin was more or less perfect. I got perhaps one small red dot on my face once a week, and even that was gone the next day. My skin was still somewhat oily but I wasn’t breaking out at all.
After I stopped using BP… well… things remained more or less the same. During these 2 to 3 weeks since I stopped using BP I haven’t noticed big changes on my skin. It has gotten little bit worse. I do notice that I get a few more small red marks, but you wouldn’t notice those without careful scrutiny, and they are gone within a day or two.
Of course 3 weeks is not long enough, and perhaps my skin takes a dip sometimes later. I doubt it, but it’s a possibility.
Conclusion
I hope this article has cleared some confusion surrounding benzoyl peroxide. I do think there’s a role for it in most skin care regimens. When used properly it’s both cheap and effective. Unfortunately most people use it the wrong way, and when you rely on it too much you have to keep using it – or face the dire consequences on your face. But when you use little bit of it in combination with antioxidants it can really help your skin.
Related off-site articles
- Beauty 101: How to Treat Acne Breakouts in the Winter (beautyhigh.com)
- Popular Acne Product Not Good for Mature Skin (caringtouchspa.com)
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Hi,
Any thoughts on retinoids? I believe they are the most effective topical treatment by dermatologists and is backed by alot of studies. Accutane is a derivation of retinoids, but is considered too risky. Thanks
I mostly focus on OTC treatments and other things people can do at home on this blog. So I haven’t delved into the literature about retinoids. But yes, they should be effective for a large number of people.
How about claims about benzol peroxide causing premature aging? I have very oily skin and good genetics (my mother hardly has any wrinkles at 60), and yet have managed to developed pretty visible lines under my eyes by the age of 25. I have been using BP twice a day for 4-5 years.
All drugs of course have a possibility to cause side-effects. I wasn’t arguing that BP couldn’t cause any negative effects. My point was that when it’s used properly the benefits from it very likely outweigh the downsides. And to dispel some myths and fear-mongering related to BP.
BP is an oxidative agent and as such I imagine it could cause premature aging of the skin. That’s one reason I recommend following it up with antioxidant cream or moisturizer.
One could also say that ACNE does cause a lot of oxidative damage to the skin, and that BP can reduce oxidative damage and thus protect the skin.
As to your case, it’s possible that the lines are caused by BP, but it’s equally possible they are caused by something else. We just don’t know. Just because your mother had hardly any wrinkles before 60 doesn’t mean the same would happen to you. That’s not how genetics works.
I had horrible acne for many years, until after menopause. Even then I had the occasional breakout, so I went back to using BP.
I still use it. I’m 60, and I just have lines around my eyes, much as you would expect for a 60-year-old. I think the BP is still having good effects on my skin.
“It works for me.”
Thanks for sharing, Pam!
Hi. So if I can understand you correctly, the right way to use the BP is to apply in a small amount or a thin layer and top it with an antioxidant moisturizer, correct?
Correct. I would also recommend waiting for 30 minutes before applying the antioxidant moisturizer. There’s a slight concern that when you add vitamin E (and maybe also other antioxidants) shortly after BP they increase oxidative damage instead of reducing it. This was shown in one petri dish study, and we can’t yet say whether this happens in humans, but it’s better to play it safe.
Oh btw, what do you think about applying BP gel (just a thin layer) on areas with no acne but acne-prone? Is it OK to do that? My acne has already cleared on few areas on my face, but I still continue putting BP gel on those areas.
BP doesn’t cure acne, just keeps it under control. So you need apply it on all acne-prone areas.
Thanks for the reply. I’m in love your website!
Ila, your English is better than many people who grew up speaking English! You are doing very well with it!!
Pam
Ok thanks a lot for the info. Good stuff
Hi !
I have a question about BP: When a cleanser or a mask contain BP does it have the same effect on skin than cream or gel? When you just clean your face with a product which contain PB, it does not stay on your skin all day so maybe the consequences/bad effects on the skin are not the same (aging etc…). I ask the question because I used during several years a cleanser/mask (Neutrogena Visibly Clear) that contains BP and I did not notice any problem on my skin, on the contrary my skin was perfect as never. I have no acne but this product improved the quality of my skin.
What do you think ?
(Sorry for my english, I am french!)
BP works both on washes and other rinse-off products as well as on leave-on creams and lotions. Obviously it’s somewhat less effective if you rinse it off, but studies have shown it can reduce acne. So even in washes it will have oxidative effect on the skin and as such may accelerate skin aging. That said, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. At least for people with acne, the benefits of correctly used BP are usually bigger than the somewhat mild side-effects it causes.
Your English is just fine. I have a French friend here in Thailand who’s an English teacher – an oxymoron if there ever was one
Can you update us on how your skin has been since stopping use of the bp and how many weeks its been? Also how did bring yourself off the product, did you just stop using one day, or did you gradually wean yourself off it by like applying it every 2nd day for a week, then every 3rd day the following week etc? Thanks
My skin is still clear and I didn’t experience any negative consequences coming off BP. I’m not completely clear 100% of the time. Maybe I’ll get a red dot or two per week, but I rarely even notice those.
I just quit it, but it should be said that I only used it once a day. So it’s not like I was lathering it on 3 or 4 times a day and quitting cold turkey.
It’s been almost 5 months now, so I don’t think it’s going to change.
Oh ok, I have only been using it once a day too and I havent had a spots since using it, but the harshness/dryness/sunburned looked from the irritation causing redness to my skin from the product means Im planning on stopping. But am apprehensive about initially coming off it because I assume its going to take a couple of weeks before the irritation goes away, what did you find? And do you use any topicals on your skin or wash with any cleansers now since having better skin, have you ever experimented with or without cleansers (because I see alot of conflicting opinions on whether cleansers cause more harm or good) Im planning on using just warm water to wash rather than a cleanser?
Sounds like BP could be doing more damage than good in your case. The irritated feel and sunburned look means it’s causing inflammation in the skin. Dryness could indicate that it’s damaging the skin barrier function, leading to excessive moisture loss from the skin.
If you just started using BP then some such symptoms are normal. It takes a few weeks for the skin to get used to BP.
Anyway, to avoid symptoms like you described I recommend combining BP with antioxidant moisturizers. I have always done this and I’ve never experienced any side-effects from BP.
I wash my face with vitamin C cleanser and afterwards apply water-based lotion with niacin. So far it’s working as well as BP.
There isn’t a lot of research done on cleansers, but what little there is shows they have little to no impact on acne. I’m talking about normal cleansers that don’t have any antioxidants or active drug ingredients. They are still better than soap as soap will damage the skin barrier function.
I talked a lot more about topical treatments and how to choose the best combination for your situation in my book Clear for Life (shameless self-promotion, lol).
also how bad was your acne before you decided to start using BP?
It wasn’t too bad anymore, not as bad as you’ll see on the About Me page. Using diet and lifestyle I had it somewhat under control, but still had quite a bit of redness and small pimples around my mouth. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t really minor either.
I started using bp 2.5% since 5th of this month. I use it once a day and i see a little improvement of my acne, but the red spots have got more darker. Why is that? and i wanna know how long does bp takes to clear acne?
I have heard its an exfoliator for the skin. is it true? so does it help fading very very shallow scars?
I can’t comment anything useful on the red spots getting darker. BP does exfoliate the skin, but I doubt it has any effect on scars. You need something stronger to treat those.