Dear Soko: Can I Combine Acids in My Skin Care Routine?

Can you combine acids in your skin care routine? Welcome to Dear Soko, a series dedicated to answering your biggest skin care questions with advice from Soko Glam’s skin experts. Whether you’re confused about specific ingredients or what you need to do to achieve healthier skin overall, these experts are here to guide you.

This week’s question comes from Maria, who has asked the following on our last Dear Soko about about an affordable K-beauty routine:

I am running out of my current products and after some research I was confident that my next cleansing/toner set would be: Hanskin Cleansing Oil and Blackhead PHA, COSRX Low PH Good Morning Gel Cleanser, and the Benton Aloe BHA Skin toner.
But I just realized that all of them contain acids in the ingredients and it might not be a good idea to combine the three of them. My skin its very clogged and oily in the T-zone area with some general redness. I have used an 2% BHA acid before that made no difference in my skin, and only caused some flaking skin in the first days but zero improvement.
Would be a bad idea to use the three products together?”

Here’s Soko Glam’s skin expert’s answer

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Hi Maria,
I’m a HUGE fan of BHA! I can sing the praises of BHA all day. What’s not to like?

• It treats acne
• It treats hyper pigmentation
• It has anti-aging benefits

AND! It’s okay to have a little bit of it in all of your products; they’ll all work together to help you loosen up and remove dead skin, unclog your pores, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
The PHA in the Hanskin Cleansing Oil & Blackhead works on the surface of the skin due to the larger molecular particles that will not penetrate deep into the skin. The Betaine Salicylate in the COSRX Low PH Good Morning Gel Cleanser is a super gentle form of BHA, and as it’s lower in the ingredient list, it will not cause any irritation.
My holy grail when I had massive breakouts on my cheeks and chin was the Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner. This toner treats, hydrates and repairs, and controlled my excess sebum production. This is the product that will have the most impact, of the three products you’re interested in. As this is a leave on product, it will provide more treatment than the double cleanse duo.
In regards to the 2% BHA product you’ve used in the past — If you still have it and it hasn’t expired. I would recommend introducing it back into your evening routine, but with the following tweaks:
Apply after toner (only in areas you are most congested), wait 15 minutes, then apply the rest of your skin care routine; 2-3x/wk. In the next morning routine, be sure to end with an SPF!
In the other evenings, apply hydrating and skin repairing products; COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is a safe bet.
Warmly,

Your Skin Expert