I’m tooting my own horn here, but cosmetic companies are finally recognizing what I’ve been saying for years: Research has made it abundantly clear that exfoliating is critical for improving your skin. Exfoliating makes skin look younger, unclogs pores, and reduces breakouts. The best way to exfoliate is with an alpha hydroxy acid product (AHA) containing glycolic or lactic acid or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) which is salicylic acid. As a result of the benefits, more and more AHA and BHA products are showing up everywhere.

As most of you know, acne-prone skin and sun-damaged skin produce abnormal cells that build up on the skin’s surface because they don’t shed as they should. That thickened outer layer creates a rough, dull appearance and keeps beneficial skin-care ingredients from absorbing for maximum benefit. When skin gets help exfoliating on a daily basis, practically overnight skin becomes smoother, it produces more collagen, skin tone improves, clogged pores practically go away, and breakouts are significantly reduced.

While scrubs have been the mainstay for exfoliation over the years, they are a poor choice. Even gentle scrubs end up disrupting the skin’s outer barrier, which hurts the skin’s ability to fight environmental damage and breaks down collagen.

Okay, another brag: So even though AHAs and BHA have been around for more than 50 years in mostly dermatologic formulations, my Paula’s Choice product line is one of the few exceptions; I have the only cosmetic line in the world with 9 BHA and 5 AHA products in various textures and concentrations.

Many lines, including big brands such as Avon, Olay, and Mary Kay, launched AHA and BHA products in the early ’90s, but they were discontinued shortly after. Part of the reason for that is because the word acid is just scary. It’s hard to explain to a woman why an acid is as good for skin as green tea or vitamin C. And while AHAs and BHA really make skin look younger, they also make skin more vulnerable to sun damage just as a child’s would be. This fact makes a sunscreen mandatory, and lots of product lines didn’t offer one as part of the skin-care routines they sold (and many still don’t).

Ironically, when you really make skin younger it has the same problem that a kid’s skin does.

Another reason cosmetics companies stayed away from creating AHA and BHA products is that they are hard to work with in a formulation. For efficacy, AHAs and BHA require a pH of 3 to 4 and a lot of anti-irritants to maximize results, making stability an issue.

I also feel strongly that BHA has been an unsung hero of which other companies are only now beginning to take note. Salicylic acid has astounding properties. It not only is an effective exfoliant but it also has some antibacterial benefit, and because it is related to aspirin (aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid) it also has significant anti-irritant properties. This makes BHA a blessing for someone with acne or rosacea.

Now that AHAs and BHA are showing up in skin-care products again, the question becomes, can companies come up with effective formulations and adapt their other products to give women the best results possible? Of course, we will let you know as we add reviews to Beautypedia.com.

Here’s a secret: I didn’t really wash my face until I was 25 years old (Paula is probably gasping right now!). During that time, I kept thinking that if I did wash my face, it would upset the balance of bacteria on my facial skin and cause breakouts. Of course, not only is that theory ridiculous, I now realize it probably contributed to the moderate breakouts I already had. At this point I’m willing to admit that I was just being lazy or arrogant (doesn’t every young person know everything there is to know about everything?). Ah, youth.

Finally, once I started washing my face, it was only sporadically—and never with a well-formulated cleanser (something I’ve learned to identify since becoming part of The Cosmetics Cop Team). Like so many young women and girls, I gravitated toward the cleansers that would tingle (because I thought that meant it was “working”) or the ones that were really strong (labeled as “deep cleaning”) and, sure enough, the breakouts persisted. Then, at around age 30, I started mixing my own facial cleansers at home with olive oil, glycerin and lavender water. Those moisturized my skin well enough, but they didn’t address my blackheads nor did they help my breakouts. And while my homemade cleanser made me feel confident that I wasn’t putting anything mysterious on my face nor was I over-spending for products—alas, my face never really felt clean.

Then, I was offered a job at Paula’s Choice, which I enthusiastically accepted. Once I started working here, I began experimenting with our line of products, which is encouraged (if not expected), and I still remember the first product I used: One Step Face Cleanser for Dry Skin. I followed the directions to the letter, and sure enough, my face felt clean, but not tight; moisturized, but not greasy. My makeup was gone, but there had been no lather and no awful burning in my eyes. It was truly the most revelatory skin-care experience I had ever had—that is, until I tried the 2% BHA liquid the following day! Suddenly things were happening on my face—and not happening on my face—like never before.

It’s been a year now, and the 2% BHA Liquid, or my “Magic Potion” as my husband and I affectionately call it, is the one Paula’s Choice product that I simply could not go without. I’ve tried all of our cleansers and moisturizers, and while I have my favorites, I could certainly substitute one for another in a pinch. That cannot be said for the 2% BHA Liquid. As an equal-to-none exfoliant, it has diminished my blackheads (chin & nose), improved the smoothness of my skin, reduced the size of my pores, evened out my skin tone, and when I put it on at night I can count on waking up with glowing skin. And breakouts are truly a thing of the past! Not only did I never really think this kind of skin was possible, but I certainly didn’t think that a single, affordably-priced product could do it all. I’ve come a long way from homemade olive oil cleansers and half-baked theories about bacteria, and my skin is all the better for it.

All of this has led me to wonder: What’s your can’t-live-without-it product? I’d love to know which ones you love from any lines—but especially ours!