What is Benzoyl Peroxide?

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Benzoyl peroxide has an antibacterial effect. It also has a mild drying effect, which allows excess oils and dirt to be easily washed away.
Benzoyl peroxide is used to treat acne.
Benzoyl Peroxide is commonly used to treat mild acne topically. It consists of two parts benzoyl and one part peroxide. It is a strong bleaching agent, therefore when applied to hair or fabrics, can be decolorized immediately.

Benzoyl peroxide has three basic properties. It can be used as an effective antiseptic, an oxidizing agent or as an anti-inflammatory. It has the ability to reduce the number of skin surface bacteria, as well as reduce yeast on the surface of the skin. For these reasons, it is most effective in the treatment of acne. When used for this purpose, it is most often in the form of gel or cream with a concentration of 10% or less. It is advised to use in small amounts, as it has a high drying agent. Some people have been found to have allergic reactions to this chemical. For these people, it is recommended to use in very small quantities then gradually increase use. If allergies continue to persist, a gel with 2.5% concentration is also available. This product has been shown to be just as effective as the 10% concentrated form.

What concentration of Benzoyl Peroxide should I choose?

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You already know that Benzoyl Peroxide comes in different concentrations, regardless to its form – gel, solution or cream. Basically, as far I as I understood from some other blogs and forums, Benzoyl Peroxide may be produced in the following concentrations:
Benzoyl Peroxide – 2,5%
Benzoyl Peroxide – 4$
Benzoyl Peroxide – 8% (more common in USA)
Benzoyl Peroxide – 10%
If you are seeking for medical help in treating acne, and you find a doctor who wants to prescribe you some Benzoyl Peroxide based products, then he’ll choose one of those concentrations I provided, depending on your skin condition.
At a 2,5% concentration, Benzoyl Peroxide is known to be effective in easy and mild form of acne, with some spots on your skin. I suppose it’s more for casual usage, when you need to treat some light for of acne.
At a 4% concentration, Benzoyl Peroxide is optimal for an oily skin, with acne affecting your front, nose or shoulders. In this concentration it has a evident drying effect, so pay attention at the dose you are about to use and contact your doctor in case something gets wrong and you feel discomfort, hard itching, redness.
In concentration of 8 to 10%, Benzoyl Peroxide becomes a very powerful remedy, yet very active. Keep in mind it is not recommended to overdose your Benzoyl Peroxide-based cream because there is the possibility of some adverse reactions to appear.
Also I would like to touch a subject that I plan to develop further in this blog - Benzoyl Peroxide’s Precautions: Benzoyl Peroxide in a 100% concentration, applied on skin, becomes extremely toxic and is a substance considered to induce skin cancer and malign structures. I repeat – only in 100% concentration. Not in 2,5 or 10% as we use in treating acne. Those doses (from 2,5 up to 10%) are considered to be skin-safe and actually are the most cost-effective acne treatment