If you are a fan of exfoliants then you probably already know about AHAs and BHAs. Pretty much any exfoliating product you come across will have either AHAs or BHAs and sometimes even a combination of both.
The exfoliating power of these ingredients ensures that any dead skin, excess oil, and rough texture is cleared up for smoother skin, unclogged pores, and a myriad of other great benefits. AHAs and BHAs work best for those dealing with clogged pores, textured skin, acne, and uneven skin tone.
And while you may not be familiar with the names BHAs or AHAs, you likely know the specific ingredients like: Salicylic Acid (BHA) and Glycolic Acid (AHA). For the most part, anytime someone refers to BHAs they are usually talking about Salicylic Acid, but for AHAs there are a variety of different types. While Glycolic Acid is the most popular AHA, others include: Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, and Citric Acid.
So both seem to be almost the same right? They both exfoliate the skin to help improve things like discoloration and congested skin. But, there are a couple big differences between the two.
AHAs vs BHAs
Glycolic Acid
Among the more popular AHAs is Glycolic Acid. Glycolic Acid is known to help aid with diminishing the look of fine lines and wrinkles, improve the look of discoloration, and helps prevent clogged pores.
Glycolic Acid functions by breaking up the dead skin cells sitting on the surface of the skin. Allowing dead skin cells to mix with excess sebum and bacteria can lead to clogged pores and breakouts, so using a product with Glycolic Acid can help reduce the appearance of acne.
And, as far as exfoliating acids go, AHAs, including Glycolic Acid, are gentler on the skin than other acids. Plus, Glycolic Acid also helps attract moisture to the skin. This ingredient can typically be found in serums, toners, and exfoliants.
Lactic Acid
The next popular AHA is Lactic Acid. Similar to Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid gently exfoliates the skin, improves the look of fine lines, and can help reduce the appearance of breakouts. It’s especially beloved for its ability to boost the firmness and thickness of the skin to help diminish fine lines and wrinkles.
But, between Glycolic Acid and Lactic Acid, the latter is the gentler of the two. Lactic Acid is far less likely to cause irritation and is gentle enough for even sensitive skin types to use. It can also be typically found in serums and exfoliating treatments.
Salicylic Acid
Moving onto BHAs, or in this case just Salicylic Acid. Salicylic Acid helps to deeply exfoliate pores to break up and flush out pore-clogging impurities like dead skin cells and excess sebum. On top of that Salicylic Acid also helps keep acne at bay and minimize pores.
You can usually find Salicylic Acid in a variety of product forms like acne spot treatments, cleansers, toners, and liquid exfoliants. It’s usually found in acne-treating products given its ability to unclog pores of potentially acne-causing impurities and reduce inflammation.
But, between AHAs and BHAs, the major difference lies in how each type operates. AHAs mostly function to exfoliate the surface of the skin, where BHAs go a bit deeper and exfoliate beneath the surface to rid pores of built up gunk.
And, each type is better suited for a particular skin concern. For example, AHAs are best suited to target fine lines and discoloration. But, BHAs are better for anyone looking to target acne and clogged pores.
What Hanhoo products have AHAs and/or BHAs?
Pore Cleanser
Our Pore Cleanser with Niacinamide is made with Salicylic Acid to help clear out pores of gunk like dead skin cells and oil. This cleanser is especially helpful if you deal with oily or combo skin, have clogged pores, and the occasional breakouts. Plus, it doubles as a bubbly face mask to better let the ingredients work to unclog pores.
Pore Serum
Our Pore Serum with Niacinamide combines Salicylic Acid and Glycolic Acid to provide both a deeper and surface level exfoliation. The BHA (Salicylic Acid) helps reach deep in pores to break up pore-clogging impurities while the AHA (Glycolic Acid) clears away dead skin cells sitting on the surface of the skin.
Using both in your routine can help keep pores clear and improve the overall appearance of clogged and large pores by keeping dead skin and sebum from clogging them up.
