Introduction

Prevention of acne or reduction of oily skin are challenging tasks for the cosmetic industry. Salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide and retinoids are all specialized ingredients to either control corneocyte shedding, the microflora or to reprogram the cell’s biochemistry. All of them are efficient specialists but no all-rounders. However, there are at least four trigger factors for the development of acne: activity of sebocytes, dihydrotestosterone level, inflammation and skin microbiota. It is difficult to develop active ingredients, which are suitable to cover all necessary needs to improve oily skin and as such, they are rare on the market. Additionally, very effective agents tend to irritate the skin and, like retinoic acid, are in most countries only available as prescriptive drugs from the dermatologist in effective concentrations.