স্যালিসাইলিক অ্যাসিড, বেনজয়েল পারঅক্সাইড না অ্যাডাপালিন?

Breakouts get more bad advice than any other skin concern. These three ingredients have the most evidence behind them, and choosing between them is mostly about what kind of breakout you have and how much irritation you can tolerate.

Salicylic acid (BHA)

Oil-soluble, so it can work inside a pore rather than only on the surface. Best for blackheads, closed bumps and congestion.

• Typical strength: 0.5% to 2%
• Start at: two or three nights a week, not nightly
• Expect: gradual smoothing over four to eight weeks
• Watch for: tightness or flaking, which means too often, not too weak

Benzoyl peroxide

Works against the bacteria involved in inflamed spots. Best for the red, sore kind rather than the bumpy kind.

• Typical strength: 2.5% is as effective as 10% and much less irritating
• Use it: as a spot treatment rather than across the whole face, at least to begin with
• Expect: visible change on an individual spot within days
• Watch for: it bleaches fabric. Use white towels and white pillowcases. This is not optional advice.

Adapalene

A retinoid, available without prescription in most places. The strongest of the three for preventing new breakouts rather than treating existing ones, and the slowest to show results.

• Typical strength: 0.1%
• Start at: two nights a week, pea-sized amount for the whole face
• Expect: skin often looks worse for four to six weeks before it improves. This is the single most common reason people quit a product that was about to work.
• Not while pregnant or breastfeeding
• Never on the same night as an exfoliant

Which first

If you are new to actives, start with salicylic acid, or with benzoyl peroxide used only on spots. Both are easier to stop if they do not suit you.

Adapalene is worth the patience once your skin is used to a routine, and once you are prepared for the first six weeks. Starting three actives at once is how people end up with a damaged barrier and no idea which product caused it.

What none of them do

None of these are a cure, and none work on a schedule you choose. If breakouts are deep, painful, scarring, or not responding after three months of consistent use, that is a dermatologist's question — not a shopping question.