
vivaciousvi
Dry/Resilient
16 February, 2021
I actually learned about this yesterday from Dr. Shah and Dr. Maxfield! Mind blown!

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Jeremy
Oily/Sensitive
16 February, 2021
Salicylic acid still works as marketed (antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-comedogenic). But it doesn't do what an actual BHA does.
Salicylic acid is a classic example of a keratolytic, which causes peeling of the corneocytes – a layer and layer from the surface to the interior of the stratum corneum. AHA and BHA, in contrast, have an effect on the lower parts of the skin. Salicylic acid reduces the thickness of dermis, while other hydroxy acids stimulate the synthesis of dermis components and increase its thickness.
BHAs are more similar to AHAs than to AMAs like salicylic acid. It's just that BHAs are expensive and hard to find commercially

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annaya
Oily/Resilient
16 February, 2021
Yep, absolutely. But i don’t care about it enough to harp on it. Like, i hate it when a misconception is widely spread when it makes you feel or think differently about the product, like the whole “mineral filters reflect light” situation, because some people use it to claim such things like “chemical filters are not good for SOC”, which is complete (insert a bad word here). But the BHA-salicylic acid misconception doesn’t have any significance in the skincare space AND most companies also call their SA products a BHA product, so it’s only natural that we’ll still use the terminology to not confuse people 😉

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Jeremy
Oily/Sensitive
16 February, 2021
I completely agree. It's just semantics. But it does irk me a bit as someone with an educational background in chemical engineering. Especially when these influencers speak so confidently about a product yet use such unscientific jargon

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Miss_LunaYee
Oily/Sensitive
16 February, 2021
What's a BHA and which ingredient is a true BHA and what products have real BHA?

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Jeremy
Oily/Sensitive
16 February, 2021
Salicylic acid is a keratolytic, which causes peeling of the corneocytes – a layer and layer from the surface to the interior of the stratum corneum. AHA and BHA, in contrast, have an effect on the lower parts of the skin. Salicylic acid reduces the thickness of dermis, while other hydroxy acids stimulate the synthesis of dermis components and increase its thickness.
BHAs are more similar to AHAs than to AMAs like salicylic acid. It's just that BHAs are expensive and rarely commercially available. An actual BHA is β-hydroxybutanoic acid which can be sourced from urine

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