Get a flawless beautiful skin: AHA and BHA all you want to know!

Hi people!! How are you all doing? I’ve been putting my time and efforts into a lot of reading these days! I think almost all of us dream for a flawless beautiful skin which glows; So I came up with this article for all of you 🙂

Even if you cleanse, tone, apply a sunscreen in the morning and a moisturizer at night, there’s still one thing missing that could make all the difference in the world to get you the flawless beautiful skin you want: an exfoliant! Everyone can benefit from daily use of a well formulated AHA (alpha hydroxy acid such as glycolic and lactic acids) or BHA (beta hydroxy acid, also known as salicylic acid) product. There are many products that are available these days in the market which claims to achieve a flawless beautiful skin; and as a layman we tend to get attracted to those adverts, packaging without knowing what kind of exfoliant (AHA or BHA) our skin needs. Chemical peels are great though not 100% organic and expensive too; and to maintain our skin we need to find the right product (our skin’s soul mate 😛 ) So my article pick for today is everything on AHA and BHA for you to achieve your flawless beautiful skin!

You all have probably heard about the benefits that hydroxyl acids can deliver to our skin. But let me tell you there are two main types of hydroxyl acids. AHA - Alpha hydroxy acids and BHA - Beta hydroxy acids.

Alpha Hydroxy Acids for flawless beautiful skin

Alpha hydroxy acids (often referred to as AHAs) are derived from fruit and milk. They include:

• Glycolic acid - Derived from Sugarcane
• Lactic acid - Derived from milk
• Mandelic acid - Derived from bitter almonds
• Tartaric acid - Derived from grapes
• Malic acid - derived from apples and pears
• Citric Acid - Lemons and Oranges

AHAs work by exfoliating the top layer of skin allowing newer, healthier skin cells to show through. They are particularly useful in dry skin and may help to diminish the appearance of wrinkles. AHAs may also help to stimulate collagen production. They can also enhance the appearance of sun damage skin.

AHAs are best used in gels, creams or lotions to allow the product to deliver benefits; this is because we wash off cleansers from our face way early before AHA starts to work. Also AHA performs best when it is used in at least 4-5% and at the Ph between 3-4.

Important Tip: For AHA’s look for products having AHA as second or third ingredient; as this will ensure that you have a good percent of AHA; for it to work. So don’t get fooled now!

Also amongst the above mentioned AHA’s Glycolic and Lactic acid have the best penetrating properties.

Beta Hydroxy Acids for flawless beautiful skin

There is only one beta hydroxy acid – salicylic acid – derived from acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin. Like AHAs, beta hydroxy acid (BHA) also exfoliates increasing the shedding of dead skin cells to allow newer, healthier skin cells.

BHA also reduces the appearance of wrinkles, improves skin roughness and assist in reducing skin pigmentation disorders. In addition, BHA is very widely used in treating acne and breakouts. This also helps with clogged pores as BHA goes deeper into skin layers helping to unclog pores there by reducing acne.

With BHA product also, you may benefit more by opting for a cream, lotion or gel that stays on your skin. For reasons same as AHA’s, cleansers are washed off far more quickly before they start to work. BHA performs best at 1-2% concentration, having Ph level between 3-4.

So now to make it very clear; the only difference between AHA and BHA is that BHA is oil soluble hence it penetrates deeper into the skin layers, so if you have oily acne prone skin you are looking at a BHA and not AHA.

Like every coin has 2 sides these hydroxyl acids also has their disadvantages:

• As they both remove skin’s top layer; your skin becomes extremely photo sensitive (Meaning it can be easily damaged by sun)
• Infact depending on your usage skin sensitivity can increase upto 50%!
• These can also cause skin irritation and redness if used in extremely high concentrations or if it simply doesn’t suit you
• Also darker skinned beauties may have risk of pigmentation

But if you ensure a good usage of sunscreen at least SPF 40 you can enjoy the benefits of these exfoliants and get flawless beautiful skin. But do not I repeat DO NOT skip a sunscreen at any cost!

GOOD NEWS! There are lots and Lots of DIY for Glycolic acid, Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acids and other Alapha and Beta hydroxy acids that will help you get the flawless beautiful skin you desire. My next post would be dedicated to it 😀 If you guys want any specific DIY based on these acids, just let me know!

Lots of love and Luck…

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