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Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant Versus Stridex XL Face & Body Pads

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant Versus Stridex XL Face & Body Pads This smoothing exfoliator is formulated around Salicylic Acid to refine skin texture and refine the look of pores. This acne treatment pad uses a pre-saturated pad with S

By Peptide Skincare & Beauty Editorial TeamPublished

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant Versus Stridex XL Face & Body Pads

This smoothing exfoliator is formulated around Salicylic Acid to refine skin texture and refine the look of pores.

This acne treatment pad uses a pre-saturated pad with Salicylic Acid to clear breakouts and refine skin texture.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Methylpropanediol

Butylene Glycol

Salicylic Acid

Polysorbate 20

Camellia Oleifera Leaf

Sodium Hydroxide

Tetrasodium EDTA

Water, Methylpropanediol, Butylene Glycol, Salicylic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Camellia Oleifera Leaf, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA

Salicylic Acid 2%

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate

Ammonium Xylenesulfonate

Citric Acid

Citrus Grandis Fruit Extract

Ethylhexylglycerin

Parfum

Glycerin

Menthol

Phenoxyethanol

Simethicone

Sodium Borate

Salicylic Acid 2%, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Xylenesulfonate, Citric Acid, Citrus Grandis Fruit Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Parfum, Glycerin, Menthol, Phenoxyethanol, Water, Simethicone, Sodium Borate, Tetrasodium EDTA

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Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Salicylic Acid (also known as beta hydroxy acid or BHA) is a well-known ingredient for treating skin that struggles with acne and clogged pores. It exfoliates both the skin's surface and deep within the pores to help clear out buildup, control oil, and reduce inflammation.

Unlike AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids), salicylic acid is oil-soluble. This allows it to penetrate into pores which makes it especially effective for treating blackheads and preventing future breakouts.

Salicylic acid is also known for its soothing properties. It has a similar structure to aspirin and can calm inflamed or irritated skin, making it a good option for acne-prone skin that is also sensitive.

Concentrations of 0.5-2% are recognized by the U.S. FDA as an over-the-counter topical acne product.

It can cause irritation and/or dryness if one's skin already has a compromised moisture barrier, so it's best to focus on repairing that before introducing this ingredient into your routine.

While salicylic acid does not increase sun sensitivity, it’s still important to wear sunscreen daily to protect your skin.

If you are looking for the ingredient called BHA or Butylated Hydroxyanisole, click here.

Tetrasodium EDTA is the salt formed from neutralizing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid with sodium hydroxide. It is a chelating agent and used to prevent metal ions from binding to other ingredients. This helps keep the product and ingredients stable.

Tetrasodium EDTA comes as a white solid and is soluble in water.

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

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The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

Connected source records selected through this article’s public topic index.

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Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Paula's Choice Resist Super Antioxidant SerumIngredients explained

  1. 01A super commonly used 5 unit long, cyclic structured silicone that is water-thin and does not stay on the skin but evaporates from it (called volatile silicone). Similar to other silicones, it gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel.
  2. 02It's often combined with the non-volatile (i.e. stays on the skin) dimethicone as the two together form a water-resistant, breathable protective barrier on the skin without a negative tacky feel.
  3. 03Probably the most common silicone of all. It is a polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule and has different molecular weight and thus different viscosity versions from water-light to thick liquid.
  4. 04As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). Also, works well to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a plump look (of course that is only temporary, but still, it's…
  5. 05Expand to read more
  6. 06As for hair care, it is a non-volatile silicone meaning that it stays on the hair rather than evaporates from it and smoothes the hair like no other thing. Depending on your hair type, it can be a bit difficult to wash out and might cause some build…
  7. 07Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate is a stable, oil-soluble form of skincare big shot Vitamin C. If you do not know, why Vitamin C is such a big deal in skincare, click here and read all about it. We are massive vitamin C fans and have written about it in ex…
  8. 08So now, you know that Vitamin C is great and all, but it's really unstable and gives cosmetics companies many headaches. To solve this problem they came up with vitamin C derivatives, and one of them is Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (let's call it THDA …
  9. 09It's a really promising candidate (see below), but while reading all the goodness about it in a minute, do not forget that derivatives not only have to be absorbed into the skin but also have to be converted to pure vitamin C (ascorbic acid or AA) a…
  10. 10With this context in mind let's see what THDA might be able to do. First, it is stable (if pH < 5), easy to formulate, and a joy to work with for a cosmetic chemist.
  11. 11Second, because it's oil-soluble, its skin penetration abilities seem to be great. So great in fact, that it surpasses the penetration of pure vitamin C threefold at the same concentration and it penetrates successfully into the deeper layers of the…
  12. 12Third, THDA seems to have all three magic abilities of pure vitamin C: it gives antioxidant protection from both UVB and UVA rays, it increases collagen synthesis (even more than AA) and it has a skin brightening effect by reducing melanogenesis by …
  13. 13So this all sounds really great, but these are only in-vitro results at this point. We could find Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate mentioned only in one published in-vivo study that examined the anti-aging properties of a silicone formula containing 10% AA…
  14. 14Bottom line: a really promising, but not well-proven vitamin C derivative that can be worth a try especially if you like experimenting (but if you like the tried and true, pure vitamin C will be your best bet).
  15. 15A tripeptide (three amino acids attached to each other: Lys-Val-Lys) that's claimed to protect and boost collagen and improve skin texture.
  16. 16The manufacturer did an in-vivo (made on real people) study with 45 volunteers and found that used twice daily for 84 days 1% and 2.5% Syn-Coll reduces the appearance of wrinkles by 7 and 12% respectively. In another study (also by the manufacturer)…
  17. 17One of the many types of ceramides that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. Ceramides make up about 50% of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells and play a super important role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping …
  18. 18We wrote way more about ceramides at ceramide 1, so click here to know more.
  19. 19We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
  20. 20Primary fat-soluble antioxidant in our skin
Source · incidecoder.com ⟶
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