What's the difference between AHA (alpha hydroxy acids) vs BHA (beta hydroxy acids)

If you want the quick facts, feel free to skip to the end for the Takeaway for AHA vs BHA

An intro into chemical exfoliatiors

Both AHA and BHA are chemical exfoliators that help remove the built-up layers of dead surface skin! Unlike physical exfoliators which can be rough for your skin, chemical exfoliators are liquid and work by eating away stuff that makes your skin dull (like dead skin, blocked pores and dirt). Whilst both AHA and BHA are types of chemical exfoliators, they do different things for your skin.

What is AHA

AHA (alpha hydroxyl acids) are derived from natural substances and are water based. They help with the skin shedding process by dissolving the glue that keeps dead skin cells together. This allows for fresh, new skin to come through.

What skin types/conditions is AHA best for

People with sun-damaged and dry skin prefer AHA because they exfoliate on the surface of skin, and helps with containing moisture.

Effects of AHA

AHA is great for people who want to have younger, firmer skin. Aside from helping with allowing for new skin to come through, AHA has also shown that it can help to increase collagen production, which is excellent for repairing photo-damaged skin as well as protecting it from future UV damage. The one bad thing about AHA is that it is known to make you more sun sensitive, so make sure to wear your sunscreen!

Common Ingredients which are AHA

The following ingredients are the most common types of AHA that you can find in your skincare products:

Glycolic Acid
Lactic Acid
Mandelic Acid
Citric Acid (although it is often referred to as a cross-over acid because depending on the formulation it can be a BHA)

What is BHA

BHAs (beta hydroxy acids) are oil based which allows it to penetrate deeper into your skin. They work by penetrating the pores and essentially "degunking." This allows it to tackle problems that AHA cannot, and makes it particularly useful against acne issues including whiteheads and blackheads.

What skin types/conditions is BHA best for

BHA is best suited for those with oily and acne prone skin as it can penetrate your skin better and clear out your pores. In saying that, BHA also has properties that help with anti-aging symptoms, such as wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and roughness.

Effects of BHA

Since BHA helps with clearing your pores, it also helps acentuate whatever treatment you choose to put on top of it. This is because with clear pores your skin can properly absorb the effects. In addition to that, BHAs also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.

Common Ingredients which are BHA

Most products use salicylic acid as their known BHA, but others include:

sodium salicylate
willow extract
beta hydroxybutanoic acid

Takeaway for AHA vs BHA

AHAs are water based and good for normal/dry or sun-damaged skin. This is because of their ability to help get rid of dead skincells faster by breaking down the glue holding it together and allowing for new, fresh skin to come through. The one downside is that AHA makes you more sensitive to the sun, so make sure to put on sunscreen!

BHAs are oil based and better for oily, acne prone skin. This is because it can penetrate deeper than the surface and get into the pores as well, resulting in the cleansing of pores, the removal of oil plugs, dirt and others stuck deeper inside. Furthermore, it has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties!

Using AHA and BHA together. Use which one first?

Because of BHAs ability to cleanse pores and unblock dirty pores, it should be applied first. This allows the AHAs to be fully absorbed by your skin!

What's the difference between AHA and BHA.