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Retinol is the ultimate anti-aging beauty product, and retinoic acid is its active form. Retinoic acid is a stronger product than retinol because it contains more of the active ingredient. This means that you’ll see results faster, but you will need a prescription in order to purchase it.
Retinoic acid is used in ointments to treat acne, and it also helps undo sun damage and makes your skin firmer, clearer, and more radiant. It can be used to treat psoriasis, a condition in which skin cells form bumpy patches or scales.
Retinoic acid is harsh and the skin gets used to it, so you need to keep using it in increasingly large doses to get long-term effects. Another, slightly alarming, the downside is that the first few weeks, as your skin gets used to the product, it may get excessively dry and red, and start to peel – which you don’t want happening on your face.
Pores are itsy-bitsy openings in the skin—and there are millions covering every millimeter of skin. There are two types of pores with different functions: sweat pores and oil pores. The sweat pore allows moisture, produced by sweat glands, to exude out to the surface of the skin, where it helps to cool the body in response to heat, exertion or fever. Sweat pores are so tiny, they are mostly invisible to the human eye.
The oil pore, on the other hand, is a bit larger. Oil pores are also known as hair follicles because these pores produce oil from the sebaceous glands, but they are also the openings from which hair emerges. The oils help to keep our skin and hair healthy. It is the oil pores that can get clogged with sweat, debris and other gunk, causing acne, blackheads and whiteheads. Sweat pores rarely get clogged, as they are so tiny.
Benzoyl peroxide is a topical agent for fighting bacteria and unclogging pores. It is one of the longest-used medications to keep pores clean and healthy. Jojoba oil and rosehip oil are also good for reducing inflammation, fighting bacteria, and keeping in moisture for healthier skin. Ingredients that help exfoliate dead skin cells and increase new skin cell production, such as Vitamin A/Retinol, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid, are good for keeping pores unclogged as well.
retinoic acid may be effective for clogged pores, but there are many other factors that may affect whether this ingredient would work on your skin or if there are better ingredients that may work for you. Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skincare routine.
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