I'm reviewing this as a face moisuriser- not for body. For the face, I give it 5 stars, as I wanted an affordable BHA option with antioxidants and no added colours or fragrance which was lightweight for my combination skin for use at night. In that regard, it shines.

It is packaged opaquely, in a long flat tube with a screw on lid, which the product "stands" on, making it easy to squeeze out what you need. While I generally prefer snap on lids, the screw on lid is not a deal breaker, as it seems to be more airtight.

The moisturiser itself is quite thin, slightly scented from the melon extract, (although this scent disappears quickly and is included as a skin benefiting ingredient than a fragrance) and can be spread easily, and absorbed quickly. I cannot review how this product layers under makeup as I exclusively use this as a night moisturiser, as this product would make your skin more sun sensitive (due to the exfoliation).

The benefits of this was not immediate- I saw a slow improvement with a reduction in the frequency and severity of my breakouts, and a general overall improvement in the texture, and brightness of my skin. This was over the course of 3 months. I also used Paula's Choice BHA 9 serum, and Acne.org's treatment.

However, as a body moisturiser, it's not emollient enough, and did not work for ingrown hairs. To be honest, the best remedy for ingrown hairs I have found is to go for laser hair removal- expensive, but worthwhile in the long run.

The amount (7oz) makes the price (a bit over $20, cheaper if you wait for a sale) very affordable for the face, but not so cheap for the body.


TL;DR: It's good, more for the face than the body, specifically for acne and blackhead concerns, as a lightweight moisturiser and is affordable to boot in comparison to other "treatment" skincare with similiar claims.

This does help my KP but it makes my body skin so dry and itchy. I have to layer another lotion over the top.


Mine came in a tube with a screw off lid which is not the best when your hands are greased up.

I know reviewers do not want a reformulation of this but in my opinion this could definitely be improved to be more emollient and a little less harsh. It was great in it's heyday but could use some refinement for my maturing skin's tastes.

Will think twice about a repurchase.

Among all Paula's bha products only this product I will buy again altho all her bha products are effective but this one has the best texture. I use this one on my face but not all-over, only as a spot treatment. Or sometimes on my nose to get-rid of blackheads. Very effective product which can get rid of my acnes if continue to use 2-3 days only at night. It is also a very strong product and making my skin peels, in a good way. The tube last me forever.

I used to love Paula's 2% BHA lotion for the face. I used it for years. It was great under make up and kept my skin clear and moisturized. Then they changed the formula so it was thick and pasty. For the past couple of years I have tried different exfoliants of Paula's but never liked one as much as that one. Well, recently I went back to read the reviews of that one just to see if they changed it back. They didn't and some were still complaining. In response to one of the complaints they suggested using this instead on the face. I immediately ordered it!! It seems just like my old BHA 2% face lotion! YAY! And in such a big tube-will last WAY longer than her RESIST AHA lotion which I had been using. I don't know why I didn't think of trying this on my face earlier-but now I am keeping my fingers crossed that they don't mess with this formula too!!

So I read a bunch of reviews on this as I heard it was good for KP. I've tried a bunch of stuff to try treating it. Salux cloths, scrubs, amlactin(burned), lachydrin(didn't do anything) lotions with fruit acids, lotions with urea, light lotions etc. A bunch of stuff. I heard this was good because BHA goes into the pore and gets whatever is in there out! So you would imagine I'd be interested to treat my KP. It's red and looks spotty and unsightly. I've been using this day and night for a few weeks and honestly haven't seen any difference in my arms. The only thing i know now my wallet is a little skinnier . Paula Begoun sure likes to bag on other companies for making subpar products that are overpriced, yet she charges 20+ bucks for this lotion and only gives you 7oz . In addition to that she uses petrolatum for her lotions' ingredients! Petrolatum isn't bad particularly but mY skin , body skin that is, tends to clog with petrolatum high up in the ingredients list. You might not have to same issue though, Oh well. I've noticed my arms feel a bit softer. -mind you before i had been using the salux cloth everyday and cerave lotion, so my skin is really soft to begin with- . To be fair I'll finish the bottle to see if I have any results (fingers crossed) I may even buy another tube of this stuff if it's on sale as i read BHAs may take time to work. But for right now I put that i won't repurchase this. I can get the same result of soft skin by a salux cloth and cerave lotion for much, much less.

Update: finished the bottle, not much changed. Meh. Currenty I'm trying her aha gel 8% for my kp

works great

I was looking for a 2% BHA treatment/moisturizer for my face, to help with acne and enlarged pores. I found the gel and lotion for the face to be too expensive for the amount you get, so I thought I'd give this a try, seen as it contains twice the amount for roughly the same price.
I've been using this for quite some time now and have found it to work moderately as a treatment: it didn't do a dramatic difference to my skin, but (probably due to the anti-inflammatory properties of salicylic acid) it does work extremely well at healing inflamed spots that have been extracted/squeezed.
However, this is an excellent lightweight daily moisturizer if you have oily and acne-prone skin. It makes the skin supersoft and makes drier or flaky areas smooth. I use this under liquid foundation and have found it to be the best moisturizer I have used so far. You need a tiny quantity, too, so the 210 ml tube has lasted me almost a year!
This is also great if you suffer from ingrown hairs, as the aspirin soothes inflammation and the peeling effect of BHA prevents new ingrowns to form.

I will definitely repurchase this.

I bought this a while ago to help with body acne and mild KP on my upper arms. Having now used the entire tube, I don't think it made much of a difference. I saw a greater difference with the PC 10% AHA lotion, at least with the KP. I liked the texture of this lotion and it absorbed nicely. For me, seems a decent shampoo or body cleanser with at least 2% BHA works better to help combat those two conditions for me. Also, from my experience, BHA penetrates better when it is in a less occlusive base.

I used to use the 2% gel but find rather unpleasant to use, used too much, it forms a film & just peel off & its rather difficult to dispense from the bottle because of the viscosity.
I used BHA mainly for the little milia around my lips, I guess the culprit is from the grease of the food although I blot often as I eat; and also the ingrown hair underneath my chin as I tweezed it whenever it peaks out.
I can use one application & the next morning those skin that envelopes the ingrown hair will disappeared & I just tweeze away. Its usually good for 4 or 5 days.
This tube will lasts me for ages; the light lotion is pleasant to use & the smell, what smell? continued >>

Read "weightless" as "this does not hydrate." I bought this b/c i get ingrown hairs on the back of my thighs if i shave instead of use of depilatory. but since i have dry skin all over my body, i thought it'd be great everywhere as well. nope. no noticeable exfoliation whatsoever. the skin on my body is definitely better off w/ manual exfo.