Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 8% Aha Gel Exfoliant

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 8% Aha Gel Exfoliant Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 8% Aha Gel Exfoliant ingredients explained: Water (Aqua), Glycolic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panthenol, Sodium PCA, Propylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polyquaternium-10, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate Show all ingredients by function Water (Aqua) solvent Glycolic Acid exfoliant, buffering superstar Sodium Hydroxide buffering Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract soothing, antioxidant 0, 0 goodie Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice soothing, moisturizer/​humectant Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Leaf Extract antioxidant, soothing Sodium Hyaluronate skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant Panthenol Sodium PCA Propylene Glycol moisturizer/​humectant, solvent Butylene Glycol 0, 1 Hydroxyethylcellulose viscosity controlling Polyquaternium-10 Phenoxyethanol preservative Sodium Benzoate Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product. It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water. Expand to read more Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying. One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time. It’s the most researched AHA with the most proven skin benefits It gently lifts off dead skin cells to reveal newer, fresher, smoother skin It can help skin’s own collagen production that results in firmer, younger skin It can fade brown spots caused by sun damage or PIH Choose a product where you know the concentration and pH value because these two greatly influence effectiveness Don’t forget to use your sunscreen (in any case but especially so next to an AHA product) Slight stinging or burning with a stronger AHA product is normal If your skin is very sensitive, rosacea prone choose rather a BHA or PHA product The unfancy name for it is lye. It’s a solid white stuff that’s very alkaline and used in small amounts to adjust the pH of the product and make it just right. For example, in case of AHA or BHA exfoliants, the right pH is super-duper important, and pH adjusters like sodium hydroxide are needed. BTW, lye is not something new. It was already used by ancient Egyptians to help oil and fat magically turn into something else. Can you guess what? Yes, it’s soap. It still often shows up in the ingredient list of soaps and other cleansers. Sodium hydroxide in itself is a potent skin irritant, but once it's reacted (as it is usually in skin care products, like exfoliants) it is totally harmless. Chamomile probably needs no introduction as it's one of the most widely used medicinal herbs. You probably drink it regularly as a nice, calming cup of tea and it's also a regular on skincare ingredient lists. Cosmetic companies use it mainly for its anti-inflammatory properties. It contains the terpenoids chamazulene and bisabolol both of which show great anti-inflammatory action in animal studies. On top of that chamomile also has some antioxidant activity (thanks to some other active ingredients called matricine, apigenin and luteolin). Though chamomile is usually a goodie for the skin, it's also not uncommon to have an allergic reaction to it. Aloe Vera is one of today’s magic plants. It does have some very nice properties indeed, though famous dermatologist Leslie Baumann warns us in her book that most of the evidence is anecdotal and the plant might be a bit overhyped. What research does confirm about Aloe is that it’s a great moisturizer and has several anti-inflammatory (among others contains salicyl what‑it‑does exfoliant | buffering soothing | antioxidant irritancy, com. soothing | moisturizer/humectant antioxidant | soothing skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant moisturizer/humectant | solvent

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