Can I use BHA in the morning and tretinoin at night

There are so many ingredients in skincare products that can be mixed together to target certain skin concerns and maximize skin benefits.

However, if there is one combination that should never be introduced to the skin, it has to be the one we will talk about today.

So, to answer your question: no, you can’t use Paula’s Choice BHA with tretinoin unless you want to deal with some (potentially) pretty serious consequences.

But if you want to read more about the two products, how they work, and understand why you can’t combine them in the same routine, continue reading.

NB: What if I told you I can show you how to never have acne again? If you have acne and want it gone, read this message.

How Does Paula’s Choice BHA Work?

Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant is a gentle, hydrating toner that contains salicylic acid.

Salicylic acid is a basic ingredient with a straightforward action that can help address several skin concerns regularly.

Salicylic acid is a BHA (beta hydroxy acid) and an oil-soluble ingredient that can cut through the superficial skin oil and travel deeper into the pores, where it will dissolve the gunk made up of dead skin cells, white blood cells, oil, and other cellular debris, that’s causing a stiff clog.

This will, in turn, allow for our natural oil to flow freely out of the pores instead of remaining stuck inside and causing issues such as blackheads and acne.

Salicylic acid is truly an amazing ingredient; however, the catch with it is that you have to continue using it to continue seeing results as your skin is likely to come back to the same old if you stop using it for a longer period of time.

Some benefits of using salicylic acid include:

• Soothing inflammation on the skin.
• Cutting through the surface oil and deeply cleansing congested pores.
• Making the pores appear smaller and clear.
• Clearing acne-breakouts.
• Dissolving blackheads.
• Soothing deeply inflamed cysts.

How Does Tretinoin Work?

Tretinoin, also known as all-trans retinoic acid, is an active form of vitamin A.

It is one of the most studied and research-backed ingredients and works incredibly well to fix various skin concerns.

Tretinoin works by speeding up cell turnover (the rate that your skin produces new cells and sheds them from its surface.)

Therefore, after starting tretinoin, your skin cells will travel faster to the surface, purging clogs in the process and revealing a brighter, smoother, healthier, and more unified complexion.

Some of the main benefits of using tretinoin are:

• Decreased lines and wrinkles.
• Improved hyperpigmentation and discoloration.
• Refined texture.
• Decreased sun damage.
• Reduced acne and clear skin.

Risks of Using Paula’s Choice BHA With Tretinoin

While your skin can benefit from both salicylic acid and tretinoin, you have to keep these two in separate routines.

Both ingredients have great skin benefits and can target multiple skin concerns at once; however, these can be terrible for the skin if mixed together.

Here are some potential side effects of using salicylic acid with tretinoin:

Over-exfoliation

Since both ingredients have exfoliating properties (although tretinoin works in a different way), using them together could easily lead to over-exfoliation, which is bad news for the skin.

Over-exfoliated skin has difficulty retaining moisture because the new, immature cells may give a glowy complexion, but they don’t have the optimal moisture-holding capacity as mature cells do, which is why moisture will evaporate easier.

Dryness and Irritation

When moisture evaporates from the skin easier, this will leave the skin dry and irritated.

The skin may try to compensate for the dryness by producing more and more oil, which will then lead to greasy skin and eventually more clogs and more breakouts.

This means that the skin’s function is out of whack and that the skin needs to heal and go back to normal function before it can deal with such a stubborn inflammatory condition which is acne.

Damaged skin barrier

When the skin doesn’t function optimally, that means that the skin’s barrier is damaged and impaired of normal function.

Damaged skin barrier typically manifests itself as being constantly irritated, red, and inflamed. 

It often gets to the point where it will be painful to even wash your face with plain water due to the intense burning sensation.

Intense peeling and shedding

And last but not least, combining salicylic acid and tretinoin will definitely lead to intense peeling and shedding, especially around the mouth.

Both ingredients (but especially tretinoin) cause initial peeling and shedding, which typically lasts for a few weeks until the skin gets used to the active ingredient.

However, mixing both ingredients in the same routine can intensify this occurrence and can sometimes trigger the skin to shed for a few days without stopping.

This was my personal experience after I mixed Paula’s Choice BHA Liquid Exfoliant with tretinoin back when I didn’t know any better.

I’ve since stopped using tretinoin because it didn’t work out for me, but that one time I mixed the two products lead my skin into intense shedding for a few days.

I also experienced extremely dry and cracked skin, which is something I usually get after a chemical peel, and this occurrence was a clear indication that I over-exfoliated my skin.

If you still want the benefits of Paula’s Choice BHA but don’t want to give up using tretinoin, you can try using them in separate routines.

For example, one way to do this is to pause tretinoin for a couple of days and use Paula’s Choice BHA in the evening followed by a moisturizer.

Another way to use them together is to apply Paula’s Choice BHA in the morning and then apply tretinoin the next evening, as this will give your skin more than 24 hours break from the active.

However, you should definitely proceed with caution and in case your skin gets irritated (which is very likely), don’t try mixing them again until your skin gets properly used to tretinoin.

Additionally, you should also avoid mixing the two actives as soon as you start using tretinoin.

I’ve heard from people that have tried using Paula’s Choice BHA as soon as the initial tretinoin purge started in hopes that the toner will help the purge subside faster.

However, this isn’t a great idea because your skin will probably be irritated during this period, so adding BHA for whatever reason is likely to cause more issues than benefits.

My name is Simone and I am a certified skin specialist. I created this website to teach my readers how to take great care of their skin and I also like to occasionally share my honest opinions on skincare products I’ve tried. You can learn more about me here.

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