Exfoliating Acids In Skincare Regime: Beginner’s Guide to Chemical Exfoliation

Chemical exfoliation is the more complex type of exfoliation which uses exfoliating acids over the layer of skin. You must be triggered of using acids in your skincare ritual but these acids are dermatologically tested and proven to benefit the skin from beneath so no more intimidation regarding the usage of exfoliating acids as your skin is in the safe hands.

Before proceeding, let’s discuss why chemical exfoliation is the best and more effective form than physical exfoliation? Chemical exfoliation is the type of exfoliation that has gained momentum in the skincare world. Chemical exfoliation is the use of chemicals that is acids to clean, scrub, and get rid of dead skin cells that accumulate over the skin. The exfoliation that we’ve been using until are scrub particles that we manually use to get rid of dead skin cells whereas chemical exfoliation is gentle (no more abrasive scrubbing of the face) and more effective exfoliation. As the former works on the top layer of the skin and results are temporary, chemical exfoliation goes into deep layers for a thoroughly cleaned skin.

The feed will guide you to the types of chemical exfoliation available so, that you can make an effective move towards the chemical exfoliation. You must have heard about AHAs and BHAs that are the most common type of chemical exfoliation but there is another one that we’ll discuss later in the feed.

Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs)–

Alpha Hydroxy Acids includes many ingredients but the most common in this branch are glycolic acid and lactic acid. The AHAs work on the upper layer of the skin and resurfaces and retextures the skin. It’s a really good type if you just want to get rid of dead skin cells accumulated on the upper layer of the skin the layer we can see.

Glycolic acid helps in smoothening the rough texture of the skin, brightening the dull skin, and resurfaces the skin texture. On the other hand, Lactic acid is the gentlest type of chemical exfoliation that not only exfoliates your skin but also adds a moisture level and if your skin is just new to the world of chemical exfoliation you should start with lactic acid to slowly build the resistant of the skin towards other chemical exfoliations.

Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHAs)-

Beta Hydroxy Acids is the exfoliation that works a layer deeper than AHAs as the later works only on the topmost layer of the skin. So, if you have clogged pores, gunk, excess sebum production, and acne the BHAs are the kind of exfoliation that will work best in digging up the deep-rooted problems of your skin.

Though BHA is the most effective type of exfoliation but also it is the most extreme one. So, we would recommend you to do a proper patch test before going for such exfoliation. The most commonly used Beta Hydroxy Acid is salicylic acid. Salicylic acid intensely helps in cleaning the skin and getting rid of acne-causing bacteria.

Poly Hydroxy Acid (PHAs)-

Poly Hydroxy Acid is the milder version of AHAs. AHAs can be very intimidating for some people, especially for sensitive skin. And PHAs come into play when you have sensitive skin but still want to go for chemical exfoliation.

These second-generation acids that help to shed the dead skin cells of the skin for smoother skin without damaging the pH level of the skin. This helps in minimizing the appearance of pores and reduces the appearance of fine lines. The most common PHAs to look out for are gluconolactone and lactobionic acids.