If you ever wondered about using acid-based skincare products as part of your skincare routine, you're probably familiar with Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) and Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA). Most skincare brands have at least a few products with these key ingredients. But what are they? How do they help our skin stay flawless? And what's the difference between the two?
Well, let's start by defining what AHAs and BHAs are. These types of acids are categorized as hydroxy acids. And hydroxy acids help remove dead skin cells through exfoliation which allows new skin cells to surface. Some hydroxy acids you might have heard of are glycolic acid, lactic acid, and salicylic acid. We usually find these ingredients in skincare products (chemical peels) that are made to treat common skin conditions like acne. When these acids are topically applied, they smooth, tighten, firm, and brighten the skin.
The key benefits of both AHAs and BHAs are that they work as an exfoliant, provide moisture, and repair sun-damaged skin. The main difference between the two is that AHAs are water-soluble and BHAs are lipid or oil soluble.
Whether you choose to use alpha-hydroxy acids or beta-hydroxy acids, here is how your skin can benefit from them and the products you should try.
Alpha Hydroxy Acids Do It All
Getty Images
According to Healthline, alpha hydroxy acids are primarily used for hyperpigmentation, enlarged pores, fine lines, melasma, and uneven skin tone. Common alpha hydroxy acids include glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, and mandelic acid. Most AHAs are derived from a plant-based source like fruits, nuts, and sugar cane, but lactic acid is sourced from milk. This means it's much gentler on the skin and safe to use on sensitive skin.
You can add AHAs a few times a week to your morning skincare routine. See how your skin feels or reacts to it. And be sure to use moisturizer and sunscreen to prevent burns or irritation.
Beta Hydroxy Acids Are Your Acne Solution
Compared to alpha hydroxy acids, there is only one beta hydroxy acid, salicylic acid, which it's derived from willow bark. Many over-the-counter facial cleansers contain salicylic acid as well because of its acne-fighting properties. In a Glamour article, dermatologist Robert Anolik, M.D. said, "BHA is lipophilic, so it's drawn to oils. That means it will not only exfoliate the top layer but also target the sebaceous glands down in the pores, clearing the clogs that create whiteheads and blackheads while also helping fade the pink marks that are left over from old outbreaks."
Salicylic acid can also correct dark spots without skin irritation because of its anti-inflammatory properties. BHAs can be used a few times a week too.
How To Use AHAs and BHAs
Getty Images
The beauty of AHAs and BHAs is that you can use them together. Try alternating each product by using one type in the morning and the other as part of your nighttime routine. You can use AHAs and BHAs on alternating days too. But never layer these two products together! Remember, these are acids that act as exfoliants—so they can cause dryness and irritation.
Make sure to use low concentrations because higher concentrations can irritate the skin. Anything with a concentration of 10% or less is what you want. If you're not sure, ask your esthetician or dermatologist how to incorporate these acids into your skincare routine.
Must-Try Alpha Hydroxy and Beta Hydroxy Acid Products
Alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acid-based products can be found at your favorite beauty stores like Ulta or Sephora. They can also be found at online skin stores like Amazon, Dermastore.com, or from your favorite skincare brands.
Here are a few trending AHA and BHA products you can try:
Neutrogena Pore Refining Exfoliating Facial Cleanser
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution
Clinique iD: Moisturizer + Concentrate for Pores & Uneven Texture
Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Framboos™ Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum
Paula's Choice SKIN PERFECTING 2% BHA Liquid Salicylic Acid Exfoliant
SkinMedica AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser
Herbivore Botanicals Prism 12 AHA + 3 BHA Exfoliating Glow Serum
I swear by The Ordinary brand because it's high-end quality and affordable AF, but try whatever beauty brand you like. The skincare brands I use vary, but I do include a medical-grade salicylic acid and glycolic acid scrub in my skincare regime. It helps with my acne, and I definitely feel the difference in my skin texture after one wash.
Listen, AHAs and BHAs are the game-changers you need in your skincare routine.
So, get your glow on sis.
To get your beauty fix and to stay up to date with the latest trends, check out the xoNecole Beauty section here.
Featured image via Getty Images
Those rumors were more than laid to rest when Jodie and Joshua went to the 2023 Oscars together earlier this year, and even more recently, when they celebrated her birthday together last month during the September unveiling of the Lotus Emeya.
Jodie Turner-Smith celebrates her birthday with husband Joshua Jackson at the unveiling of the new fully-electric Lotus Emeya on September 07, 2023 in New York City.
Brian Ach/Getty Images for Lotus
Despite seeming particularly happy and in love, perhaps the writing was already written on the wall even then. In the past, Jodie has been very celebratory publicly about her love for her estranged husband, even boldly recounting their love story for the books in a 2021 interview with Seth Meyers.
When Jodie and Joshua met, it was while at his birthday party in 2018. Their relationship was hot and heavy from the start, with Jodie openly noting that they began as a "one-night stand." During her 2021 interview with Seth Meyers, she jokingly referred to their love story as a "three-year one-night stand." She shared:
"First of all, I saw him before he saw me and when I saw him, I was like, 'I want that.' And then when he saw me, I just pretended like I didn't see him. He had to yell across the room to me, and I was wearing this T-shirt from a movie called Sorry to Bother You and [actress] Tessa Thompson plays a character called Detroit, and she has this T-shirt that says, 'The Future Is Female Ejaculation.'
"And so, he shouts across the room, 'Detroit!' He comes over and… does this really cute, charming thing that he does and just all night -- he just basically followed me around the party."
The couple were together from that moment forth, and even made things "Instagram official" less than two weeks later while on a dinner date. Joshua would later clarify to Insider that the night they met in 2018 was not a 'one-night stand' or a 'three-year one-night stand' like his then-wife joked but instead, it was "technically a three-night stand."
"It was sealed with a kiss that night and then we didn't leave each other's sides for, well, three years now," Joshua continued at the time.
In a July 2021 interview with Jimmy Fallon, Joshua dropped more details about the why behind getting married. He revealed that he didn't know he wanted to get married to Jodie until "the moment she asked me."
"She asked me on New Year's Eve. We were in Nicaragua. It was very beautiful, incredibly romantic, we were walking down the beach and she asked me to marry her."
He added, "I did not know [she would propose], but she was quite adamant and she was right. This is the best choice I ever made."
Joshua Jackson Reveals Jodie Turner-Smith Proposed To Him
Jodie received quite a bit of flack for proposing to Joshua because it goes against tradition and what society sees as acceptable for a woman to do to a man, and proposing isn't one of them. No matter how much time has passed, the viewpoints around who should do the proposing and who should be proposed to are still very traditional.
After being on the receiving end of such backlash, Joshua would later clarify to the media in a separate interview that it wasn't just Jodie's proposal to him that sealed the deal of them getting married, he proposed to her too. She might have initiated it, but Joshua followed through.
"I accidentally threw my wife under the bus because that story was told quickly and it didn't give the full context and holy Jesus, the internet is racist and misogynist," he explained to Refinery29 that same year. "We were in Nicaragua on a beautiful moonlit night, it could not possibly have been more romantic."
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
He continued, "And yes, my wife did propose to me and yes, I did say yes, but what I didn't say in that interview was there was a caveat, which is that I'm still old school enough that I said, 'This is a yes, but you have to give me the opportunity [to do it too].'"
"She has a biological father and a stepdad, who's the man who raised her. [I said], 'You have to give me the opportunity to ask both of those men for your hand in marriage.' And then, 'I would like the opportunity to re-propose to you and do it the old-fashioned way down on bended knee.' So, that's actually how the story ended up."
Joshua and Jodie would eventually marry in December 2019. Shortly thereafter, Jodie gave birth to the couple's first child, Janie, in 2020.
In a recent interview with Elle UK, Jodie shared the ways becoming a mother to Juno helped to heal her of her wounds from colorism she experienced in the past. "It's interesting because I had a lot of resistance to becoming a mother and, throughout my life, I always said if I were to have children, I wanted to have Black, Black babies so that I could affirm them as children with the love that I felt I needed to have been affirmed with by the outside world," Jodie shared with the outlet.
She continued, "Then I fell in love with my husband and we talked about having kids. I did have this mini pause, where I was like, 'She's going to be walking through the world not only having an experience that I did not have, but looking like people that, in a way, I'd always felt a little bit tormented by.' Now that I've got this little, tiny, light-skinned boss, I feel like it’s the universe teaching me lessons. I've been given a daughter who looks this way to heal my own conversations around colorism."
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Amy Sussman/Getty Images
