Quick clarification: I say in the video that it’s OK to use the AHA+ as a nightly moisturizer every night. This is only true for people who have been on the Regimen for at least a month. I do not recommend AHA at the start of the Regimen while your skin is still adjusting to benzoyl peroxide.
Category Archives: 10% Alpha hydroxy acid
Just uploaded videos on how I use AHA
I was feeling a little spaztic the day I filmed these videos–too much coffee I think–but they should suffice to show you how I use AHA. I feel like my elevated energy level may have made the spot treatment video seem a little sales-y, so please forgive me for that. But I really am just so in love with the AHA that our formulators made for us. For me, it works better than any AHA I’ve tried. However, the Acne.org AHA+ or the Alpha Hydrox Enhanced Lotion work for me in the ways I show in the video. If I couldn’t get my hands on the AHA+, the Alpha Hydrox would be my back up.
AHA is now available
The 6oz. glycolic acid (AHA) plus lichochalcone is for sale. I sat down with a calculator and crunched numbers to get it to stay between my target of $15 and $20 and managed to get it down to $16.11.
You can read more about glycolic acid, aka alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) here, and more about lichochalcone here.
I personally use it for spot treatment, body acne treatment, and flakiness control. It is not required on the Acne.org Regimen, but it’s a nice addition that I recommend for pretty much everyone. For me, it takes my skin from clear to pretty much perfect.
I look forward to your feedback.
Update: AHA should be for sale in a week or so
I got the AHA filled this week and it’s awaiting final tests to make sure it’s ready for sale. I’m hoping to have it for sale next week. I’m still working on pricing, trying to keep it as low as I can.
And a quick Sal Acid update…tubes being labeled. Then we’ll start filling. Still a couple of months off probably. Yeah, I know, it’s slow, but I’m doing absolutely everything I can. I actually think I’m totally bugging everybody involved 
AHA update
A bunch of people are asking about the AHA so here’s a quick update:
The labels are printed so it’s just a matter of getting them applied to the tubes. This requires sending them out and takes 2 and a half weeks. Then we’ll send the labeled tubes to get filled. Filling can take a while too because our filler are sticklers for quality every step of the way. But the ball is most definitely rolling. Believe me, I want this as much as anybody. I’m running out of my sample! I’ve learned never to promise a date, but I’m working on it as quickly as I can.
The latest on products in the pipeline
I still need to find out more specifics, but since I said I would post regarding the products, here’s what I know so far. Keep in mind that you never know what can pop up and get in the way of production, so the time lines are simply guesses and could vary widely.
8oz. Organic Jojoba Oil: Being filled today! I hope to have it for sale in the coming weeks/month.
6oz. AHA + lichochalcone: Finalizing artwork for labels. I’m hoping to get it filled next month and perhaps have it for sale in May or June. I can’t wait to get this out to you guys. I think it’s incredible.
6oz. Salicylic Acid + ingredients that calm and soothe acne-prone skin: We’re still pretty far off on this one. I’ve finished tweaking it to get it as perfect as I can. However, since I do not find salicylic acid as effective as benzoyl peroxide or alpha hydroxy acid, I am planning on releasing it in only a very limited amount to see what you guys think. I might not even put it on the store, and instead just let people know on the boards and on the blog where they can order it. Once, and if, we’ve decided we love it, I’ll make it in larger quantities.
Over-exposed my forehead to the sun – AHA makes you more sensitive.
Because I know that AHA makes you more sensitive to the sun, normally I’ll put SPF on over it. But yesterday, because I thought I was just running a few errands and wouldn’t be in the sun very long, I decided against the SPF step. I was out for a couple of hours, getting in and out of my car, walking to and from, here and there. I really wasn’t out in the sun all that long, but still, my forehead got quite red. I just wanted to share my experience as a little warning to everyone who is using, or about to use, AHA. We have to be more cognizant of sun exposure while applying this stuff.
Switched to AHA in the morning and BP at night and I’m still clear! This is huge!
Hey you guys. I am very excited to report that I am still clear now that I’m using BP just at night and AHA in the morning. I previously switched to using just AHA at night, but changed it again so I’m using AHA in the morning so that I can wear colorful clothes without worry of bleaching during the day. I am so in love with this AHA. Our formulators did an incredible job. It is in a moisturizing base, and since it works with a different mechanism than BP I can put it on right after I shower without waiting for my skin to dry. Plus, my skin looks and feels great. My tone is even and I have a sixth sense that I have very few microcomedones. This means I have an intuitive sense that I have very few microscopic clogged pores that can cause trouble. So, my new morning routine is:
1. Shower
2. Apply AHA
3. Put on something colorful that I won’t bleach during the day
4. Put on SPF if it’s sunny (AHA makes skin more sensitive to sunlight)
5. Walk out the door
It is much easier than doing the regimen twice a day, so I’m psyched. I’m doing everything I can to get the AHA out to everyone as fast as I can, but these things take time. I’ll post a blog entry about the products in the pipeline in the next day or two.
Trying just AHA at night
I’ve been a big fan of 10% glycolic acid for years. I’ve found that it’s a great spot treatment and seen it work great on people’s body acne as well. Recently I decided to make one for us myself, and added lichochalcone, a powerful licorice root extract which may be incredible at interrupting the inflammation cascade (it’ll be out in the coming months).
At any rate, I started using this new 10% AHA + lichochalcone in the evenings in place of my usual moisturizer a few weeks ago. My skin has been 100% perfect since then. The regimen usually keeps me clear, but every so often I’ll at least see something minor trying to pop up that I need to zap with AHA. But since I started using the AHA at night, I am in no fear of having anything whatsoever. It’s pretty great. So, in the interest of experimentation, as of two days ago I started using only the AHA at night and eliminating the benzoyl peroxide. So far so good. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
I should mention that I am also trying different SPF formulations pretty much every day in an attempt to formulate the perfect SPF for us. Playing with two variables at the same time (eliminating BP at night and changing SPF each day) is not the smartest way to figure out what works and what doesn’t, so my experiment is a bit flawed. Regardless, if I can stay completely clear with just AHA at night, even with changing my SPF moisturizer every day, that’ll be pretty cool.
Product update as promised
10% AHA: It’s been finalized and I am super in love with it. It will have 3 uses; as a spot treatment, as a body acne treatment, and as a hard-core AHA moisturizer. I’ve been using it every morning instead of the usual moisturizer and my skin is ridiculously perfect. I am going to place an order tomorrow for the tubes and product and will launch this product in a 6oz. size. Eventually if you guys are as in love with it as I am we can fill it in other sizes. I’ll put it in a tube because, um, I guess you guys like tubes better We’re looking at probably three or four more months to launch. Sorry it’s taken so long. I wanted to get it exactly perfect. My best guess is it will cost between $12 and $15. The stuff is crazy expensive to produce because glycolic acid is so expensive and we have other expensive ingredients in there (lichochalcone for instance is $6,000 per kilogram), but as usual I’ll price it as low as I can.
Jojoba: I’m also ready to place an order tomorrow for the organic jojoba oil. I will launch this in an 8oz. size. I’m hoping this will be out before the AHA. I’m aiming to price it in the $12-$15 range as well. Again, if you guys really want it, I can start to fill it in smaller and larger sizes as well.
Salicylic acid + anti-inflammatories + sebum reducers: It’s good to go as well. I’ll order it up in a small quantity most likely and launch it in a 4oz. tube. This one is more of a wild-card. The vast majority of people who I have asked to try it have reported that it’s the best sal acid they’ve ever tried, but can it approach the efficacy of benzoyl peroxide? Benzoyl peroxide is so good that I don’t expect anything to match it. But then again, it may meet a need for people who don’t like benzoyl peroxide for some reason. I am also excited to see how you guys fit it into your own regimens. Launch date: 3-4 months. Price: Hopefully I can keep it under $10.
SPF: Your guess, as usual, is as good as mine. I continue trying samples and I am not loving anything. Most recently I tried a powder sunscreen–pure minerals. I hated it. It made me flaky and left a kinda weird feeling on my face all day. I’m so frustrated that I decided I am going to start working “on the bench” as they call it in the formulating world. What this means is I’m going to visit a local renown formulator and trial samples right there on the spot and ask him to change things as I watch. I am setting an intention to produce the world’s best sunscreen for acne prone skin, and gosh darn it, I don’t care how long it takes. We’ll do it!
New and improved moisturizer: More samples are on their way. I will keep you posted.