Best BHA: Stridex or Paulas choice Clear

BHA's should be the basis of any acid tone for oily skin, acne and clogged pores. A BHA is salicylic acid and it clears pores, works on discolouration (red or brown marks) and reduces inflammation. Products can range from £1 and up but today I'm going to be comparing 2 alcohol free options.

Alcohol and denatured alcohol (alcohol denat) is in many cheap products, the problem is it damages and irritates the skin but also dries out skin which leads many people to think it helps with acne (it doesn't). If you've ever used a product with alcohol after shaving or on broken skin you will know it hurts. Alcohol is best avoided especially when high up on ingredient lists, avoid products where you can feel you face getting tighter.

Stridex Max VS Paula's Choice Clear

Stridex (£8) is sold in many US drug stores, sadly only available on Amazon in the UK. It does contain irritants such as methanol and detergents (ALS).  Get them here.

Paula's Choice (£22) is sold only online. As far as irritants go... its a clean slate!

How to useStridex is pre soaked pads, for PC you need to soak a cotton round. I usually only soak half a cotton round as I find that's enough to wet my face and not waste any. Use both after cleansing before anything else.

How it leaves the skin feeling
Stridex does leave my skin feeling dry, although it doesn't irritate much but I find using an AHA cream over to sting more then usual. PC is a different story, it could be water for all I know as it doesn't dry me out at all.

Effectiveness
I used stridex first for a month and found it did help a bit towards acne control but it didn't really work enough. PC on the other was great, after about two weeks I noticed I wasn't breaking out even though I had run out of benzoyl peroxide.

Conclusion / TLDR
PC is the clear winner. There's not much to say other than it left my skin looking great without drying or irritating. After using this I will definitely try the stronger strength or use their original BHA liquid.