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7 Essential Facts About Using AHAs on Your Skin
Thinking about adding AHAs to your skincare routine? Otherwise known as alpha-hydroxy acids, AHAs offer up a number of skin benefits…so long as you use them correctly.
If you’re new to the world of hydroxy acids and want to know more, read on as OROGOLD shares seven essential facts about using AHAs on your skin.
1) AHAs Primarily Exfoliate the Skin
The main reason people use AHAs is to exfoliate their skin. While there are plenty of other exfoliating ingredients available, AHAs are considered to be among the gentlest.
AHAs work by dissolving the glue-like bonds that keep dead skin cells attached to the skin’s surface. This allows those cells to then fall away, revealing the fresher and younger cells beneath.
2) AHAs Can Benefit the Skin in Other Ways Too
Although AHAs are mainly used for exfoliation, they offer up some other significant benefits too:
Reducing the Appearance of Fine Lines and Wrinkles
AHAs are great for helping the skin look younger and firmer. With each layer of dead skin cells that they remove, the layer of cells beneath, which will look and feel smoother and tighter, will be allowed to show through. This immediately gives the skin a plumper and more youthful finish.
Lightening the Look of Hyperpigmentation
Usually caused by sun damage, dark spots on the skin won’t fade overnight. Leave them be and their appearance will slowly lighten over the course of several months. However, add AHAs to your skincare routine and you’ll be able to speed this up. The more you regularly exfoliate your skin, the brighter and more even in color it will look.
Reducing the Appearance of Acne
There are a few factors that contribute to acne breakouts, with clogged pores being one of the main ones. When your pores end up blocked with dead skin cells, bacteria soon mix into those clogs, resulting in inflammation and breakouts.
Exfoliating with AHAs helps with this in two ways. Firstly, it removes any dead skin cells that are lingering on your skin’s surface. This means that there won’t be as many dead skin cells around to clog your pores in the first place. AHAs also clear away dead skin cells from pore openings, helping to remove blockages that have already formed.
Increasing Product Absorption
Ideally, when you apply a skincare product to your skin, it should quickly penetrate through so that it can start working ASAP. However, if your skin is laden with dead skin cells, your products will struggle to do this. Instead, all of that dead skin will form a barrier that blocks your products from reaching your living skin cells. Only a small percentage of your products will manage to seep through, meaning that you won’t see the full spectrum of benefits that your products should be offering.
Exfoliating with AHAs removes all of those obstacles. This will allow your skincare products to dive straight into your skin, making your entire skincare routine all the more effective.
3) There Are Multiple AHAs to Choose From
Where people often stumble when using AHAs for the first time is in deciding which acid to use. There are a few different AHAs out there to choose from, with each one varying in its potency level. Here are three of the most popular:
- Glycolic acid – derived from sugar cane, this is the AHA with the smallest molecular size. As a result, it works on a deeper level of the complexion than other AHAs. In some ways, this is good but it also means that there’s more chance of experiencing irritation from the ingredient.
- Lactic acid – usually derived from fermented foods, lactic acid is known for being gentler than glycolic acid due to its larger molecular size. It doesn’t penetrate quite as deeply and also has hydrating properties.
- Mandelic acid – derived from almonds, this AHA is known for being extremely gentle. It works near the surface of the skin, meaning that reactions and irritations are very unlikely.
So, how do you know which AHA to choose?
If you’re using AHAs for the first time, it’s always best to go with a gentle acid. With that said, many formulas are now combining multiple exfoliants to stagger penetration. This is exactly what the OROGOLD 24K Deep Peeling + Mandelic Acid does. It blends mandelic acid with bamboo powder, which is a physical exfoliant. The bamboo powder works to prep the skin, leaving it feeling more permeable, after which the mandelic acid can then work its magic.
4) BHAs Can Be Just as Effective as AHAs
If you’re considering AHAs and your skin type is oily, then it would also be worth familiarizing yourself with BHAs. The main difference between the two is that AHAs are water-soluble whereas beta-hydroxy acids are oil-soluble. This means that if you have oily skin, BHAs will be more effective at penetrating the excess oil on your skin, enabling it to reach a deeper level of your complexion than AHAs can.
Again, just like with AHAs, there are a few different BHAs out there. However, salicylic acid is the most popular. Some products contain both an AHA and salicylic acid, but such formulas aren’t usually recommended for beginners. As you’re about to find out, acids need to be introduced to the skin slowly and carefully…
5) AHAs Need to Be Introduced to Your Skin Gradually
Although AHAs are generally considered to be gentler on the skin than physical exfoliants, such as scrubs, this is largely due to how they aren’t abrasive. This means that, unlike scrubs, they don’t run the risk of causing micro-tears in the skin.
However, the acids themselves will still be new to your skin. Go overboard with your use of AHAs at the start and your skin will only react negatively. Instead, it needs some time to grow accustomed to your acid of choice, meaning that a gradual introduction is key.
This means starting off with a mild and low-concentration AHA product, just like the OROGOLD 24K Deep Peeling + Mandelic Acid. Begin by using it just once a week for a few weeks. Once you’re confident that your skin is happily tolerating the AHA product, you can increase your usage if required.
How often should you be using AHAs? This all depends on your skin type. If you have dry or sensitive skin, once a week will likely be sufficient. However, if your skin type is oily, you may need to exfoliate with an AHA two or three times a week.
6) The Incorrect Usage of AHAs Can Lead to Over-Exfoliation
What happens if you use AHAs too often? Over-exfoliation, which is not fun to deal with! This skin problem arises when the skin has been exfoliated too much. This happens not only when you exfoliate too often but also if you use an exfoliant that’s too harsh or powerful for your skin. This causes damage to the skin’s natural protective barrier, which can lead to a whole host of skin problems.
The tricky part is that the symptoms of over-exfoliation are extremely varied. This means that it can sometimes take a while to figure out that exfoliation is the root cause of your new skin problems. However, if you’ve recently added AHAs to your skincare routine and have noticed some of the following symptoms, over-exfoliation could be to blame:
- Increased sensitivities. The skin will often sting or burn in response to products that it was previously fine with.
- Redness and inflammation.
- Dryness and dehydration. The skin might even peel and flake.
- Increased oil production and acne breakouts.
- An uncomfortably tight feeling in the skin.
- A waxy appearance to the skin’s surface.
What happens if you’ve accidentally over-exfoliated? You’ll need to immediately stop exfoliating and give your skin some time to heal. This can take weeks – sometimes even months – so be patient. In the meantime, cut back on your skincare routine and only use products that soothe and calm your complexion, like the OROGOLD 24K Deep Moisturizer. Then, once your skin feels back to normal, introduce AHAs back into your routine. However, do so very gradually and don’t make the same mistakes that you did before!
7) AHAs Can Increase UV Sensitivity
You’re probably already aware of just how bad the sun can be for your skin. Not only do those UV rays cause up to 80% of the wrinkles and dark spots that develop on the skin over time, but they also lead to dehydration, acne breakouts, and skin cancer.
To save your skin from all of this, you need to keep it protected from the sun. Unfortunately, any type of exfoliation, including exfoliating with AHAs, will leave your skin temporarily more vulnerable to sun damage. This is down to how it removes the outer layer of dead skin cells on your skin, which would have served as an additional barrier between your skin and the sun.
This is why many choose to exfoliate in the evenings, rather than in the mornings. This way, your skin has all night to recover. You’ll still need to be careful about sun protection the next day, as you should every day of the year, but your skin won’t be more vulnerable than usual.
If you prefer to exfoliate in the mornings, make sure that you’re diligent about sun protection. An SPF 30 sunscreen, like the OROGOLD 24K Skin Tone SPF 30, is essential. It would also be worth applying a vitamin C serum, like the 24K Vitamin C Booster Facial Serum, underneath your sunscreen. Studies have found that applying vitamin C in conjunction with a sunscreen keeps the skin feeling even better protected against UV damage.
Understanding AHAs
AHAs can be transformational for the complexion – in both good ways and bad. It goes without saying that you’ll want to see nothing but benefits from your use of AHAs, so make sure that you keep all of the above facts in mind when giving acids a try for the first time. Pick the right product and introduce it gradually into your skincare routine so that your skin can reap the rewards of these ingredients without any of the downsides.
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