AHA BHA PHA Liquid Exfoliant, 100ml

Probably, acids are the form of active ingredients that have longest history in skincare industry. According to the records, even ancient Egyptian queens used fermented milks which contains lactic acid as skincare product, so we can guess how acids are beloved. This product contains 3 popular forms of acids - AHA/BHA(????????)/PHA along with many active ingredients. So let's see.Ingredients:It used very common solvents - water, butylene glycol, propanediol and followed by active ingredients glycolic acid (AHA), lactobionic acid (PHA). I couldn't find salicylic acid (common form of BHA) so I was kind of puzzled by BHA part. if someone knows, please let others know. After several inactive solvents, many well known extracts such as centella asiatica and licorice extract appeared on the formula, and they also added many peptides as well. At first, I thought $30 was too much for the small bottle, then again, when you look at the ingredient, it is somewhat justifiable since some of them are quite expensive to formulate.Texture:It has toner texture, so it is good for the first step of the skincare routine. If you have wipe-off type toner, use it first if not, this one should come first since it has almost zero viscosity. It absorbs to skin quite well so you can just dap into the skin but I recommend you to use this on the cotton pads.Effectiveness:It exfoliates skin very well and it makes skin smoother on the next day. You don't need a long time to see the result, since acids are relatively instantaneous. Especially, if you need to do make up, this product works wonder (with cotton pad), since it removes some bumpy dead skins on, so foundation sits on the skin a lot more smoothly. I don't have sensitive skin so I use retinol after this without a problem but my husband felt tingling and slight irritation with the same mixture so if you have sensitive skin, you should test if you want to use this product along with retinol or high concentration of B3 (niacinamide.)Final Thought:It's nice product to add on your skin care regime, especially if you don't have very sensitive skin. Although it works very well, $30 for 3.4 oz toner is a bit too pricy even if it is full of active ingredients. But still, it's worth to try so I gave 5 stars.

I get to try a lot of beauty products and I was really curious to try this when I saw that it's an exfoliant. It has AHA/BHA/PHA which are star ingredients. It says on the product page that it's a lotion and the instructions say you can apply it directly using hands or with a cotton swab. Well, it's not a lotion, but rather more similar to a toner. It's very watery with a slight scent of something like witch hazel. I tried it with a cotton pad but felt like the pad absorbed more of it than going on my skin so I prefer to use my hands and applying it liberally all over. There was no stinging of any sort and my face felt very smooth once it dried. The amazing part was that all the tiny texture on my skin went away and my face glowed shortly after. It doesn't "exfoliate" in any visible way with peeling skin or anything of that sort, but it does give you an amazingly smooth, glowing skin.Now I'm wondering why this doesn't have hundreds of glowing reviews when the product is stellar and the price is so low. Everyone, please try this. It is that amazing! I've let my teenager try it and it helped get rid of the texture on her skin (not quite pimples, but tiny bumps). Absolutely love this product!

I regularly use chemical exfoliants ever since trying (and loving) the 2% BHA liquid from Paula's Choice. As a product tester for the Vine program, I've tried several while in the program. So far, this is the only one that I've come across that combines AHA, BHA and PBA. Some have been sticky, this one is not. My skin feels refreshed with no oily or sticky residue whatsoever.Since I use chemical exfoliants regularly, I won't see the dramatic results that others have experienced with this product. They definitely improve the condition and texture of your skin and help combat excess oil, even help with acne.AHAs are best for dry skin and have moisturizing properties, BHAs are best for oily and acne-prone skin and have anti-inflammatory properties, and PHAs are best for sensitive skin and have anti-aging properties. This product combines them so you get to benefit from all three! I did not experience any tingling, burning, irritation, redness or drying. I believe that this is a perfect product to get acquainted with chemical exfoliants. Newbies may want to start out using a few times a week and then work your way up to avoid any possible adverse effects until your skin adjusts.This product does come in a smaller size than the Paula's Choice making it a bit more expensive per ounce but the Paula's Choice will likely take a bit more time for your skin to adjust due to it's strength. The Paula's Choice also only contains BHA, so you also don't get the benefit of three products in one.Mesoderm's bottling is a bit better too. These products tend to leak and they were thoughtful enough to add an additional snap shut tab on the bottle opening. At $26.95 for 100 ml, you don't want to accidentally waste any product by leakage or evaporation. The snap shut tab is great at preventing this, even if it can be a little tedious trying to open with limited eyesight or clumsy fingers.This is a great starter exfoliator and maybe even a great long term maintenance product. I will have to use it longer to determine if it's as effective as the stronger chemical exfoliants out there. If you're unhappy with your skin, please try this. In my 45 years, I've tried countless beauty products. Most are ineffective or have underwhelming results. Once you try chemical exfoliation, you won't go back and your skin will thank you for it. You'll probably earn some compliments as well!