Should I Use Strong Chemical Exfoliants?

Chemical exfoliants are among the most popular ingredients right now, thanks to their ability to exfoliate chemically, as opposed to scrubbing away dead skin manually.

But do you need strong skincare acids? Let’s take a look.

How Chemical Exfoliants Work

Skincare acids work by ungluing the bonds that keep dead skin stuck to your skin’s surface. This helps your old skin to shed normally and reveals the smooth, baby-fresh skin hiding beneath. With such dramatically effective results, it’s no surprise that there are new products containing skincare acids released daily.

It’s pretty easy to find products containing all levels of concentrations (from 1% to over a whopping 30%). But do you need your acids to be so high?

Does A Higher Percentage Mean I’ll Get Better Results?

In a nutshell? Not necessarily.

While skincare acids can seem like a game changer with almost immediate results, don’t go too hard too soon. If you overdo your skincare acids (either using something with too high a concentration or using it too frequently), you might cause some pretty nasty effects on your skin. Skincare acid overuse can result in over-exfoliation, with consequences ranging from severe irritation, dryness, redness and unwanted breakouts.

Not good.

How then can we use skincare acids with confidence?

Using Chemical Exfoliants Safely 

Here are our top tips to getting the most out of skincare acids without any negative effects.

1. Start gently. If you’re keen to introduce acids into your skincare routine, start off slowly. No matter your skin type, we recommend beginning with using skincare acids once or twice a week. Depending on how you handle it, either decrease or increase your usage from there.

2. Acids and Vitamin C. If you’re already using Vitamin C serums, it’s not advisable to add skincare acids as they both have exfoliating effects. Depending on the acids you want to use, they can make Vitamin C inactive and ineffective. If you do want to use them though, the correct order is Vitamin C, BHA then AHA.

3. Which Acid? Not all skincare acids are alike. The two most common, AHA and BHA have similar effects but work quite differently. They can also work in combination though, with moisturisers like Some By Mi’s 30 Days Miracle Cream containing the greatest hits of skincare acids.

4. Manage expectations. With many acid-containing skincare products with concentrations in the double digits, it’s important to know which level is right for you. To be safe, start off with lower concentrations, like APLB's AHA BHA PHA range. 

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