Everybody should own… Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid
I’ve recommended the Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid hundreds of times over on my blog (and through emails) and I’ve just realised I haven’t ever reviewed it properly! Fixing that now.
What is it? Exfoliate deep within the pore and fight stubborn blemishes and blackheads with this clear liquid with 2% salicylic acid (BHA). Also contains soothing anti-irritants.
How do you use it? Easy, either soak a cotton pad in the solution and swipe over skin or simple splash a bit out into the palm of your hand and massage it into your skin.
Who should use it? A 2% BHA solution like this works really well for a lot of conditions:
- It helps to break down skin clogs and blackheads, preventing new ones from forming. This leaves your skin clear, smooth and pores look smaller because they’re so clean.
- This blackhead fighting action also helps prevent ingrowns from shaving (face or anywhere else).
- 2% BHA also helps to calm skin redness so not only will it fight blemishes but it’ll soothe any associated redness or even rosacea.
Pros
- It’s a very simple formula that’s works perfectly. Better than anything similar that can be purchased in-store.
- Simple ingredients means it’s unlikely to break you out – even if your skin is very sensitive to acne.
- No scent and it’s a liquid that sinks in instantly.
- Unlike most BHA (or Salicylic acid) products, this contains no alcohol. Perfect if you suffer from blackheads, ingrowns or redness but don’t have excessively oily skin.
Cons
- You have to buy it online.
- At around £19 it’s not incredibly cheap but a bottle lasts quite a long time.
Overall This stuff is fantastic – I think everyone should own a bottle! I’ve been buying this stuff for years and it keeps my skin perfectly clear – in fact I just bought a new bottle a few days ago. If you have issues with clogged pores, blackheads, redness or ingrowns – I highly recommend giving this a shot.
Rosacea - A Success Story!
The Prince and the Patch.
I’ve heard good things about this too, but let’s say if I was to find a drugstore astringent with 2% salicylic acid that was also alcohol-free, would it do the same thing as this?
A lot of times I see acne skincare products that’s active ingredients are SA and BP — (aside from some of the ingredients,) what’s the difference?
What are your thoughts?
The difference is usually in the base, the Paula’s Choice product is 2% salicylic acid held in a very simple base that shouldn’t irritate even the most sensitive skin.
The difference between SA and BP? SA is a lot more gentle on the skin but doesn’t work as well on full-blown acne.
This didn’t really do much for me, and I found I couldn’t really incorporate it into my skincare properly.
I have another con for you too – when applied it feels very odd, slightly ‘tugging’ and feels like it won’t dry. But when it does dry it turns nice and matte (sometimes)
Ahh, that’s a shame – it doesn’t do that on me! Different strokes…
I need to get this!
I bought this exact product after reading about it in this blog. There is a big con with this product. You can’t use it on the chin or neck (let alone anywhere else below the neck) as it will destroy any piece of clothing it comes in contact with as if it was bleach. Even if you let it dry, just touching your chin with your handcuff will get you a blemished handcuff next time you wash your shirt. I started noticing it as two of my shirts lost color in the collar area, and that’s considering a 4″ gap between where I apply the product and the collar.
I showed this to my dermatologist and she couldn’t give any good reason to keep it in the routine. She said to just stick to 2.5% benzoil peroxide.
Hi,
it was definitely the benzoyl peroxide that bleached your clothes,salicylic acid doesn’t do that.Benzoyl peroxide can bleach hair or dyed fabrics.However,the two combined really make a difference in treating acne.
When should I use it?
Cleanser – Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid – Moisturizer/Treatment ???
Yep, got it in one!
This product is the singular best exfoliator on the market. Period. I have been using it for quite a few years and my skin (that was once troubled) is now flawless. @DH you might have wanted to use it only at night, then you would not have had any bleached collars and cuffs. Just sayin…
I use Aveda Exfoilant, how does it compare to this product ie Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid??
I haven’t used the Aveda one, will look in to it…
It was probably the Benzoyl peroxide that bleached your clothing! I used bp for years and ruined so many clothes.
How would you compare this to Stridex non-alcohol 2% SA pads?
the stridex has menthol which i hate, PC doesn’t
But both work very well (unless you’re sensitive to menthol of course!)
Hi
Very interesting. I have never tried this product but I am going to order one today. I normally use overnight clearing gel by Dermalogica which also has 2% salicylic acid which is fab but almost twice the price. It will be interesting to see what other ingredients are in this as a direct comparison, soothing agents etc. Great review and looking forward to giving it a try.
Brilliant, let me know how you get on!
Hello I bought this because of your recommendations.And lots of other things
Now I want to ask you how I can incorporate this to my routine. I was using Acne org bp, but now I bought retin-a, skinceuticals phloretin cf, nia 24 and this Bha liquid. I am always changing what I apply, sometimes BP at night some nights retin-a, sometimes bha in the morning or BP only. I also bought Sofina Lucent ı use it too. Can you help me sort out a routine with these?
this changed my life! my skin is so much nicer now, i was suffering from seborrheic dermatitis and this is the only things that keeps the crust from forming on my face. also, i don’t understand why you recommend the liquid. I used lotion, which in 1% was amazing consistency, but in 2% was too thick. So now I ordered gel. Liquid would be a waste of product if put on cotton pad.
Ok thanks. but what do you use more in combination like soap etc?
Did your skin texture stay the same while having seborrheic dermatitis?
I prefer Paula’s CLEAR Regular Strength 2% BHA Toner as I find it has a lighter consistency and more skin-soothing ingredients. However, this 2% BHA liquid is a tad stronger.
Im using this product since 3 months now and its really awesome, I use to have a very very oily skin, now my skin is “normal” (only bad thng is it leaves skin dry after washing and when I used it at first my skin was a little bit red) Anyway thanks for your website.
Is there any reviews for make up forever hd ? (Im a man just to let u know but heard about this product)
hi, i was wondering if Paula’s Choice 2% BHA solution is safe to use on arms to treat Keratosis Pilaris because it doesn’t say anyywhere if thats okay. And if so will it work? because the back of my upper arms are the only part of my body with this problem and i cant seem to do anything to make it go away.