RE: Salicylic acid vs BHA?

[Guest guest]

Salicylic acid vs BHA?

Anyway, here's the question: what's the diffence between salicylic

acid and BHA? I've read some things here that make it sound like they

are the same. But I bought a small bottle of a's 1% BHA and it

really burned when I tried it! BUT I have been using things with 2%

salicylate in them with out the burning, and I didn't think they were

making my face worse. So what's the diffence?--thanks, Jess.

Salicylic acid is generally regarded as a beta-hydroxy acid, although it's

" not quite that simple " . It certainly behaves differently from the usual

alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs)- probably because it has the " aromatic ring "

structure. I think salicylic acid should be treated as a compound in its own

right, with its own specific characteristics, and not classified as a

general BHA. Note that, unlike the AHAs, salicylic acid is not

water-soluble, so it often needs alcohol or a something similar to dissolve

it.

Citric acid and some other AHAs are also BHAs (I won't post the boring

details here unless people really want to know!)

Just to add to the confusion, an anti-oxidant called Butylated

HydroxyAnisole (often used in creams etc) is also known as BHA, and is not

related to beta-hydroxy acids.

Barry Hunt