I will say that this makes quite a bit of sense to me, plus, having more acne-prone skin, I was often recommended to use products containing some sort of chemical exfoliating agent. Which is why I purchased these two very different chemical exfoliants: M.D. Forte Glycare II For Oily Skin ($19-24 for 2 oz./60ml) and Paula's Choice 2% BHA Gel For All Skin Types (now called Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Gel Exfoliant, $18.95 for 3.3. oz./100ml).Let's talk about M.D. Forte Glycare II first. It's a clear liquid that contains mostly water, alcohol, glycolic acid and eucalyptus oil, and that should have been my first warning sign; both alcohol and essential oils are known irritants, so this not only stings, but also stinks. Secondly, Glycare II supposedly contains 20% glycolic acid (alpha hydroxy acid), which is one of the highest concentrations I've come across in a non-prescription product. However, I've said 'supposedly' - I've also found some information that in fact it's a 20% concentration of 'glycolic compound', which acts more like 8% concentration of your normal glycolic acid. I was also unable to find any information on the pH level of this product, which is something that affects the effectiveness of the acid on your skin. As you can surely deduce, I'm not too smitten with this - I don't feel like it did anything good to my skin such as the promised reduction in oil production or diminished imperfections, and using it is certainly unpleasant.
Paula's Choice 2% BHA Gel is a clear runny gel containing salicylic acid (beta hydroxy acid) with some antioxidants such as grape seed extract and green tea extract. It's fragrance, paraben and oil-free and claims to calm redness, build collagen, unclog and diminish enlarged pores and create radiant, clear, even-toned skin. Generally, BHAs are preferrable to AHAs for people with acne-prone skin, because BHAs not only exfoliate the top layer of your skin, but are also capable of penetrating the pores and loosening the debris collecting there. I can personally vouch that the Paula's Choice BHA Gel did in fact work a lot better for me than the MD Forte Glycare, whether it's because one contains BHA and the other AHA or because the former is just a better formulation all around. Paula's Choice BHA Gel was gentle enough for me to use every night (and my skin is rather sensitive too), didn't feel drying at all, seemed to fade some of my hyperpigmentation marks and somewhat helped control my breakouts. The pH level of 3.2-3.6 also guarantees the effectiveness of the acid. My only gripe with the gel is that it feels incredibly sticky on the skin, no matter how much or how little you use; on top of that the bottle tends to spill when travelling, but that's been improved on since I bought mine. All in all, I wouldn't necessarily repurchase this exact same product from Paula's Choice, but I might try her BHA liquid next time I'm on the market for a chemical exfoliant.I hope this has been somewhat useful, at least to those of you whose skin might be similar to mine. Speaking of skincare, I will be posting an update on my fight with picking very soon, and I've also recently been to a dermatologist and wondered whether you, my lovely readers, wanted to hear about my experience. Other than that, please let me know in the comments your favorite exofliants, be it chemical or not!
I am a little scared of physical scrub seeing how thin my skin gets after each use. Now I have just been cover my face with a thick oil, leave it on for quite a while (and that will just soak up dry skin and make them easily rubbed off) and that pretty much works as a scrub for me. I found retinoid pretty effective but more for scar/marks removal.
ReplyDeleteI think chemical exfoliants might be able to make your skin more resistant over time, but some skins just don't fare well with exfoliation in general! I like retinoids too :)
DeleteHmm I like this post a lot! See, my skin reacts horribly to chemical exfoliators, but seems to do better with physical ones. Salicylic ones don't do anything for me either. But maybe they haven't been strong enough or at the right pH? I will do that! Thank you! And yes! I want to hear about your trip to the dermatologist!
ReplyDeleteI think many people have sensitivities to chemical exfoliants and can't tolerate any at all :( But sometimes the products you try are just not very good at all, kinda like that MD Forte stuff, so switching to something more effective & less irritating might help. Let me know how it goes for you!
DeleteThe one by Paula's Choice looks great...I've yet to try her products since they almost always get good reviews.
DeleteI've been watching Dr. Schultz's YT page and even bought his book about skincare! Chemical exfoliants seem to be the better choice--I just haven't found one. Never heard of Paula's Choice. I will look into it. Thanks for the recommendation. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely love to hear about your experience at the dermatologist!
He's a sweetheart, isn't he? :) I've only tried a couple of Paula's Choice products so far, but I like her philosophy in general. And I promise to post about the dermatologist appointment!
DeletePlease do write about the drematologist appointment, it would be lovely to hear what it's like over the pond. I've had my fair share of trips to the doctor's office, mostly unpleasant, but the last lady (old as the hills but reasonably thorough in her examination) has started me on Retin A. ouch is all I can say right now ;-)
ReplyDeleteI will, I will, pinky promise! I can tell you one thing for sure, Anu, it's helluva lot more expensive here :) And I do understand the ouch factor x
DeleteI used to use the PC BHA lotion and I LOVED it, but I found after a few months it stopped working for me and dried me out. :-(
ReplyDeleteI use AHAs (a Silk Naturals one at the moment) because I don't like using scrubs on my face if I can help it. It seems too harsh.
I swear by/can't live without Acne.org's AHA+. It's a gentle (pH balanced) AHA with an added moisturizer. I have super oily, acne-prone skin and this has always been good to me!
ReplyDelete