Formulation Advice for Acne and Keratosis Pilaris

Thank you for your question and for providing details about your current treatment and the cleansers you use. It's understandable that you're looking for ways to enhance your treatment for persistent acne and keratosis pilaris.

Regarding your questions:

1. Adding Encapsulated Salicylic Acid and Tea Tree Oil to Body Wash: While it is technically possible to add Encapsulated Salicylic Acid (Wash-Off type) and Water Soluble Tea Tree Oil to your body wash, this approach is generally not recommended for treating long-standing conditions like yours. Wash-off products have very short contact time with the skin, meaning the active ingredients like salicylic acid and tea tree oil don't have enough time to penetrate effectively and work on clogged pores and inflammation. For persistent issues, a leave-on treatment is typically much more effective.

2. Mixing Encapsulated Salicylic Acid with Distilled Water for Leave-On: You asked if you can mix Encapsulated Salicylic Acid with distilled water and apply it as a leave-on treatment. The specific Encapsulated Salicylic Acid (Liquid, Timed-Release, Wash-Off) product you mentioned is designed for rinse-off applications. While you could mix it with water, an encapsulated salicylic acid product specifically designed for leave-on use would be more suitable for a toner or serum.

Recommended Approach: Leave-On BHA Toner

Based on your situation and the advice provided in the reply, a more effective strategy would be to create a leave-on treatment, such as a BHA toner, using an encapsulated salicylic acid product suitable for leave-on. This allows the salicylic acid to remain on the skin and work continuously to exfoliate and unclog pores.

To make a simple BHA toner:

• Mix an encapsulated salicylic acid product (suitable for leave-on) with distilled water. A common concentration for active salicylic acid in leave-on products is 2%, which might correspond to around 6.6% of the encapsulated product depending on its active content. You can adjust the concentration based on your skin's tolerance, potentially increasing it if needed, while observing your skin's reaction.
• Apply this toner to the affected areas on your back and arms after showering and leave it on.

Enhancing the BHA Toner

To help support your skin barrier and reduce potential irritation from the salicylic acid, you can add soothing and hydrating ingredients to your BHA toner, as suggested:

• Panthenol (Vitamin B5): Known for its moisturizing, soothing, and wound-healing properties. It helps strengthen the skin barrier and reduce redness.
• Allantoin: An ingredient that helps reduce irritation, soothe the skin, and promote tissue regeneration.
• Safe-B3™ (Vitamin B3, Niacinamide): Offers multiple benefits including reducing inflammation, improving skin barrier function, reducing hyperpigmentation, and controlling oiliness. It can be used at concentrations up to 10% without causing flushing.

Adding these ingredients can make the BHA toner more comfortable for daily use, especially given your history of persistent issues.

Using Tea Tree Oil

Water Soluble Tea Tree Oil is effective for its antibacterial properties. Instead of adding it to a body wash, it is best used as a spot treatment for individual inflammatory acne lesions. You can dilute it in water (e.g., 1-5% for body application) and apply it directly to pimples.

By focusing on a leave-on BHA treatment and using Tea Tree Oil for targeted spot treatment, you may find a more significant improvement in your acne and keratosis pilaris compared to modifying a wash-off product.