::PRETTY SMART!:: AHAs & BHAs- Exfoliate like a boss.

Hey hunnys!!

Welcome to the first installment of my Hunnybase segment Pretty Smart! Wearing makeup will only get your skin so far in life. You have to know the difference between helping and harming your skin. That is where Pretty Smart comes in! My goal is to teach you how to keep your skin healthy, happy and smoothhhh<3 Soooo let’s get started!

How often do you guys exfoliate? What kind of exfoliates do you use? I used to think there were just physical scrubs that have little beads that rub off your dead skin and that was the only way to clean! But there’s actually two different types of exfoliation. The other type besides manual scrubs is chemical exfoliation! This comes in two categories: AHAs and BHAs. Let’s start with the former.

AHAs stand for Alpha Hydroxy Acids. What the hell is that? I don’t know about you but I damn near failed science in high school.. these words just sound complicated. Well they aren’t! AHAs are organic acids are found in foods! Sugar, nuts, cirtris and milk! Sounds like lunch! 🙂

Wanna know which acids come from which foods?

Lactic acid comes from milk

citric acid comes from citrus fruits

malic acid comes from pears & apples

tartaric acid comes from fermented grapes

mandelic acid comes from nuts(almonds)

This acid works as an exfoliate because it takes off the dead skin cells on your face. A huge example of a popular AHA rich food is sugar cane that has glycolic acid. That’s why sugar scrubs are so common because they have AHAs! In lamens terms these foods have properties that can take off the dirt on your face 🙂 Using these valuable acids can lead to brighter and younger looking skin and who doesn’t want that?

AHAs are also water soluble which means they melt with water so cleaning up after using AHAs is quick and simple! As for skin types, AHAs are good for normal to dry skin types. If you have sensitive skin you should try lactic acid first because it is less likely to break you out or leave your face red.

However because Alpha Hydroxy Acids get rid of the dead skin on your face it also opens you up to sensitivity to UV rays so be sure to apply sunscreen before going near a window or stepping outside.

Now let’s go look at the latter! <3

BHA stands for Beta Hydroxy Acid. Sounds just like AHAs right?BHAs exfoliate the surface of the skin like AHAs but BHAs also helps get rid of the gunk in your pores! Yayyy! Bye bye blackheads and bacteria in your skin~ This extra mile is something AHAs do not do~

The most popular BHA is salicylic acid~ Salicylic acid actually comes from willow tree bark! Nature is beautiful thing~~ <3 This acid can penetrate your pores & clean them from the inside out! This results in smaller looking pores and a fresh face! You can find Salicylic acid in serums and gels as well as your regular scrubs and cleansers.

A negative of BHAs is that they are prone to leaving your skin dry and taut so leave BHAs exfoliators alone if you have dry skin like me. Oily skin types won’t be negatively affected by this! BHAs’ ability to unclog pores also makes it an easy choice since oily skin types are usually also accompanied by excess sebum && acne.

More differences between AHAs and BHAs? While AHAs are water soluble BHAs are fat and oil soluble.  BHAs also have antibacterial properties and can reduce inflammation! Both of these chemical exfoliants are just God-sends if you ask me~

Now if you decide your skin can tolerate both AHAs and BHAs then that’s fine. Just don’t use them right after each other to prevent irritation. Exfoliating is important but it cannot be abused! I exfoliate twice a week. Some people (especially oily skin types) feel the need to exfoliate once a day and that’s fine as long as their skin can handle it. If you skin starts to get really red, overly dry or overly oily then calm down on the scrubbing until your skin normalizes.

So why does any of this matter? Why do you need to exfoliate your skin? Well cleansing is good, it’s like a daily wash but you need some deep cleaning every once in a while. Like spring cleaning your house. It’s a must. Your skin sheds dead cells every moment of every day. It is a constant occurrence, like how dogs shed. Humans have something similar. Imagine if you never brushed your dog’s hair and it just kept getting tangled up in each other, growing in sweat and dirt.. Yuck! We are the same way~ That’s why using an exfoliant really keeps you from long term issues and premature aging!

Stay healthy hunnys! Let me know how you exfoliate in the comments below!!

Until next timee!