Interesting Reads: About AHA and BHA

I decided to post an article on AHA and BHA before reviewing the Hada Labo AHA/BHA Exfoliating Face Wash Foam. This is from Paula Begoun's cosmetics cop website. Note the properties of AHA/BHA that is needed for proper exfoliation. 


An effective AHA or BHA product. One significant consequence of sun damage is that the outer layer of skin becomes thickened, discolored, rough, and uneven. The best way to help skin shed abnormally built-up layers of dead, unhealthy skin is to use a well-formulated alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) product. Such exfoliation will not only even out skin tone it will also produce a significant improvement in the texture of skin. Another benefit is that exfoliating away accumulated layers of dead skin cells helps other products you use, particularly moisturizers, penetrate skin and be far more effective. The most researched forms of AHAs are glycolic or lactic acids. Salicylic acid is the sole BHA option. For AHAs, look for products that contain at least 5% AHA, but preferably 8-10%. If the percentage isn’t listed on the label, then the ingredient should be at the top of the ingredient list. For BHA products, 0.5% to 2% concentrations are available.

The difference in concentrations between AHAs and BHA is not a qualitative one. AHAs are not more effective or better than BHA because of the increased concentration needed for one versus the other. Rather, leave-on, daily use AHAs are effective at 5% to 10% and BHA at 1% to 2%. (Sources: Women’s Health In Primary Care, July 2003, pages 333-339; Journal of Dermatological Treatment, April 2004, pages 88-93; Dermatology, January 1999; pages 50-53; and Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, April 1997, pages 589-593). There are many examples in skin care (and baking for that matter) where percentage of an ingredient doesn’t demonstrate superiority.

If you are battling wrinkles and stubborn blemishes or blackheads, BHA is the better choice because salicylic acid can also improve the shape of the pore. Whether you choose an AHA or BHA product, it is essential that the pH of the product is between 3 and 4. This range is necessary for either ingredient to exfoliate skin. You can find products with a pH lower than 3, but these tend to be too irritating for all skin types, which negates their benefits. (When I rate skin-care products with AHA or BHA, the pH is always tested to be sure it can indeed exfoliate skin.) (Sources: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, April 2005, pages 1156-1162; Dermatologic Surgery, February 2005, pages 149-154; and Experimental Dermatology, December 2003, pages 57-63.)


Do click the website link to read more about treatment of wrinkles. This website has a lot of useful information about skincare as well. 

Interesting Reads: About High SPF Sunscreens and Under-application of Sunscreen

This website is really informative! It gives you all you need to know about sunscreens.

Below is an excerpt about the under-application of sunscreen:

http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/full-report/high-spf-and-other-misleading-claims/

SPF factors are based on two-to-five times more sunscreen than people actually use

In the real world, people get far less protection than the bottle advertises.

Sunscreen makers establish a product’s SPF by testing their products on volunteers. The testers coat the volunteers’ backs with 2 milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin (mg/cm2), the amount stipulated in FDA’s draft sunscreen regulations (FDA 2007), and then expose them to sunlight-simulating UV radiation until a burn appears. The time needed to burn, divided by the time it takes to burn the volunteers’ unprotected skin, is the SPF.

In real life, people apply one-half to one-fifth the amount of sunscreen used in the laboratory SPF tests (Autier 2003, Azurdia 2001, Reich 2009). Because of the physics of sunlight, that cuts the protection factor not by a factor of just 2 to 5, but by between the square root and the fifth root of the SPF. That’s a much steeper “exponential” cut in protection (Faurschou 2007, Schalka 2009, Kim 2010, Playtex 2007). For example, this means that someone who applies one-fourth as much sunscreen as in the SPF test gets just SPF 2.3 protection from an SPF 30 product. SPF 100 becomes just SPF 3.2.

How under-application of sunscreen cuts effective SPF
(based on applying one-fourth the recommended amounts)

SPF on label	Average SPF of users at (0.5 mg/cm2)	% UV transmission (amount reaching skin)
15	2	50%
30	2.3	43%
50	2.6	38%
100	3.2	31%

Source: EWG analysis of sunscreen efficacy based on a typical sunscreen application rate of one-fourth of 2 milligrams per square centimeter of skin (the SPF testing application amount).

A number of studies have confirmed people’s tendency to apply less sunscreen than is used in SPF testing. One study of 124 students found that the average application rate was one-fifth (0.39 mg/cm2) the testing amount (Autier 2003). Another study found that ten female volunteers applied a median thickness of sunscreen that was one-fourth (0.5 mg/cm2) the amount used in testing (Azurdia 2001). Even when researchers instructed volunteers on the proper amount to use, they applied too little: A study of 52 subjects found that uninstructed volunteers applied 34 percent of the recommended thickness, and even those who were instructed on how much to apply used only 43 percent of the recommended amount (Reich 2009).

The fact that people use less sunscreen than recommended is not an argument for using even higher SPF products to compensate. Higher SPF products produce small increases in real-world SPF. But even this small change allows sunbathers to stay in the sun longer – and absorb more overall radiation – before a sunburn sends them indoors. In the process, the substantially greater amounts of sunscreen chemicals in higher SPF products can penetrate the skin and lead to much higher internal exposures to potentially hazardous compounds. The user is left with a burn and a significantly higher “body burden” of sunscreen chemicals.

Interesting Reads: Article on Eye Creams

I found an article on eye creams by Consumer Reports. It is the same magazine that analysed anti-wrinkle face creams and found that Olay Regenerist  was the top performing cream, ousting top and expensive brands Lancome, RoC and La Prairie Cellula.

In Sep 2009, they were at it again and got some research done on anti-wrinkle eye creams. Again, price was not a determinant for effectiveness and many drugstore brands performed better than higher-end counter brands! I was surprised that Consumer Reports included face moisturisers as the control group and the Simple brand moisturiser (for face) performed really well! Overall, the Report noted very little improvement for all eye creams after 6 weeks, which dampens my hopes on eye creams really working to reduce wrinkles. Prevention is better than cure!! The article includes 7 preventive tips! http://www.shopsmartmag.org/files/Eye_buys.pdf

I read in another separate report that many skin experts have said that there is no need for a separate eye cream as the formulations of both face and eye creams are very similar as both require the same ingredients for effectiveness, yet the eye cream can cost as much as the face cream but sold as a tiny bottle, usually only 15ml.

I have pasted an excerpt below, please click the link to read the full article:

http://www.consumersearch.com/eye-cream/review :

Despite marketing hype, most experts say general moisturizing eye creams just aren't essential. For instance, Ellen Marmur, dermatologist and chief of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, says, "The basic moisturizers individuals use on their face often have the same formulation -- and many of the same ingredients of general eye creams." Paula Begoun agrees, saying that "product formulations for moisturizing eye creams typically don't differ from those of general moisturizing facial products." She explains the only difference is often the product's price and the size of its container. Another issue is that while all-over facial moisturizers often contain sunscreen, few eye creams do. In fact, of the dozens of eye cream brands covered in this report, only five of them contain sunscreen. Many experts find this ironic since most studies show sun damage is the leading cause of skin damage. If your eye cream does not contain sunscreen, consider using a foundation or concealer that does. In general, the only time a separate eye moisturizer is needed is when the eye area has a different skin type or is experiencing a separate ailment than the rest of the face, Begoun says. For example, a person may have oily facial skin and dry skin around the eyes -- or suffer from dark under-eye circles.

Enjoy reading! And share your thoughts about eye creams with me!