This Liquid Exfoliant Has Been My Holy-Grail Skin-Care Product for Years. Here's Why.

New York Times

2 days ago

I'm a huge skin-care nerd, but whenever I'm feeling tired, sluggish, or lazy at the end of the day (which is, you know, often), it's a challenge to get through all the steps of my nightly skin-care routine.
When that happens, I make a deal with myself: Just get to the part where you apply Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, which I do after cleansing and toning, and you're good. That's because this super-gentle yet super-effective formula — one of Wirecutter's picks for the best exfoliant — gives my complexion a noticeable glow and leaves my skin feeling moisturized and healthy every time I use it, even if I use no other products after it.
Should I manage to perform all of my facial ablutions before bed, I'll follow up the Paula's Choice 2% BHA with a serum (Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment) and a night cream (CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, one of our recommended moisturizers). But if I had to choose just one product to care for my skin after cleansing, it's definitely this exfoliant. I haven't found anything else that's as enjoyable to use with such dramatic, pleasing results.
This Paula's Choice 2% BHA contains just eight ingredients. Its main active ingredient is salicylic acid, which is a kind of beta hydroxy acid. BHA is one of three types of chemical exfoliants often used in skin care — the other two are alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), which is a smaller molecule, and polyhydroxy acid (PHA), which is a larger molecule.
BHAs are known for being 'exceptionally efficacious at sinking into pores and breaking down the sebum that causes oiliness and cystic acne,' editor Rory Evans explains in our exfoliant guide. That claim proved especially true among our Paula's Choice 2% BHA testers. 'More than any other BHA serum we tested,' Rory notes in the guide, 'Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant made us feel like it was really getting in there to lift away oils and grime.'
The brand recommends applying one or two shakes of the exfoliant to a cotton pad and swiping it all over the face and neck. The experts I talked to concurred that this is the best application method, because the pad helps physically remove the excess sebum and dead, flaking skin cells that the product is formulated to help treat. But I must confess: Sometimes I shake the exfoliant into my cupped hands and pat it into my face and neck with my fingertips, because I just love how it feels. Other times, as a treat, I press it in with a jade roller so I can also enjoy a little facial massage.
The thing is, my love for Paula's Choice 2% BHA has nothing to do with how much gunk I see on my cotton pad after I've applied it.
I am middle-aged (ish?), so my face isn't the sebum-churning machine it once was. I still experience congestion, but big blackheads or gnarly zits are much more of a rarity for me these days. When I use a cotton pad with Paula's Choice 2% BHA, I hardly ever see any telltale grime on the pad afterwards (although my 12-year-old, who's just starting her battle with blackheads and pimples, also uses Paula's Choice 2%, and she sure does).
Instead, what I love most about this product is how it's formulated to address a wide range of skin concerns in addition to clogged pores. Only use Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant once or twice a week to start. Your skin might feel a little warm and tingly or turn a little red for several minutes after you apply it. If you have a stronger reaction than that, this product might be too concentrated for you. Otherwise, you can slowly work up to using it as often as twice a day. Rose Lorre/NYT Wirecutter
'A product is more than just its active [ingredient],' Mary Lupo, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of the Lupo Center for Aesthetic and General Dermatology, said in a phone interview. 'The vehicle is crucial.' In other words, the overall formulation of a skin-care product can be just as important as the attention-grabbing ingredients that are usually highlighted front and center on its packaging. (Paula's Choice 2% BHA contains the fewest ingredients of any of our exfoliant picks, and the fewer ingredients a product has, the less likely it is to contain one that irritates your skin.)
Of the five exfoliants we recommend in our guide, Paula's Choice 2% BHA is one of only two that contains green tea extract, an antioxidant-packed skin enhancer with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties. (The other exfoliant with green tea extract in our guide, Shani Darden Lactic Acid Serum, costs about $89 an ounce, whereas the Paula's Choice exfoliant, depending on the size of the container, is roughly $9 an ounce.)
Paula's Choice 2% BHA also contains methylpropanediol, 'a humectant that will help retain moisture and help to combat any potential dryness from the BHA,' Pooja Rambhia, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at UnionDerm, said in a phone interview. Combined with the green tea extract's soothing properties, she added, 'This product is really beneficial for those dealing with breakouts and redness.'
And though I don't have definitive proof, I swear that I can actually feel all of those benefits in real time after I apply the exfoliant. Initially, it delivers a temporary flush to my skin along with a warming tingle — but never an uncomfortable burning or stinging sensation, which 'could be a bad sign of increased risk of skin-barrier damage,' Rambhia said. After a few minutes, my skin is calm and feels replenished and hydrated, which is why, even though I know I shouldn't, I occasionally skip moisturizer before bed. Even without that final layer, I'm pleased with how my skin feels when I wake up the next morning. Swiping a liquid exfoliant onto your skin with a cotton pad (as I'm doing in the first pic) helps get all that gunk off your skin. However, I also love how the product feels and performs when I pat it into my skin with my fingers or when I press it in with a jade roller. Rose Lorre/NYT Wirecutter
Though I love my Paula's Choice 2% BHA, on paper I should prefer AHAs over BHAs. This is because AHAs are known to improve skin texture, address uneven skin tone, and lessen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. (So, you know, old-people stuff.) These two types of acids are sometimes discussed as if they're opposites that serve different demographics: BHAs are usually said to be best-suited for younger people who worry more about acne and clogged pores, while AHAs are better for more-mature skin-care issues.
In my experience, though — and according to the known science behind these acids and the experts I spoke to — your age shouldn't stop you from incorporating a good BHA into your skin-care routine, since clogged pores can be an issue at all stages of life. (In your later years, they may be more likely due to a pile-up of dead skin cells, as opposed to an overproduction of sebum in your earlier years.)
Plus, if you use a BHA, you can still use an AHA, as I do. The serum I use after Paula's Choice 2% BHA in my skin-care routine contains AHA in the form of lactic acid. There's nothing that says you can't use the two in tandem, or even simultaneously, so long as they're not too irritating to your skin. (In fact, another exfoliating product we recommend, Pacifica Glow Baby Brightening Peel Pads, contains both.)
But I often find AHAs a little too irritating for me to apply every day, and after years of use, I just feel that BHAs are more my jam. Turns out, I'm not the only one. 'If push comes to shove, I'd say that the AHAs are a little inflammatory to the skin, whereas the BHAs are anti-inflammatory,' Lupo said. Unlike many AHAs, BHAs are also lipophilic, she added, which means they're better at preventing transepidermal water loss — a concern that might be particularly acute as skin ages.
Rambhia added, 'For mature patients, your skin isn't turning over as robustly as it was when you're younger, so things like dullness can tend to be more prevalent; that's where I think a BHA is really useful. It can help revive the skin and improve dullness by exfoliating the top layer of skin cells.'
As with any skin-care acid, the only trick to using Paula's Choice 2% BHA is to make sure you're not using too much of it. Both experts I spoke to recommend applying it twice a week to start, to ensure your skin isn't irritated by it. If your skin can tolerate it, feel free to gradually start using it more often. The brand recommends up to twice daily, which is how often I use it, because sometimes, you really can't have too much of a good thing.
I purchased my first bottle of Paula's Choice 2% about two and a half years ago in a trial size. Now I buy it in bulk, in the biggest size available, when it's on sale. I always have multiple bottles stashed away, waiting for their call of duty. Each one will get its turn atop my sink vanity, I know, because I am not moving on from this product anytime soon — quite possibly never. For smoother, glowier, healthier skin, it's the choice I make again and again.
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