Review: Paula's Choice RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion with 10% AHA | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

18 August, 2014

Review: Paula's Choice RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion with 10% AHA

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I've been on a "test all the AHA body lotions" kick lately. Someday I may do a detailed comparison if I have time, but I'll give you a big fat spoiler right now: Paula's Choice RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion with 10% AHA has been the most effective and least annoying to use for me of the bunch so far. Effective how, you may be wondering? Well keep on reading and I'll give you the whole scoop.

Paula's Choice RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion with 10% AHA tube

First of all, I think it's important to address the reason why I am on the quest for the perfect AHA body lotion. I suffer from Keratosis Pilaris, AKA those annoying little white or red bumps that can appear on your upper arms (or thighs, or other areas). This isn't a life-threatening condition, but I find it unattractive and annoying, so naturally I like trying things that will diminish it. Aside from that, AHA lotions can also also just generally make your skin feel softer, smoother and less dry, which is something that everybody probably wants.

The star ingredient of this product is of course the AHA, in the form of glycolic acid. The pH range is 3.5-3.8, making it very suitable for exfoliation. It also contains a number of other moisturizing agents (such as shea butter), giving the lotion a very nice texture.


Full ingredients:
Water, Glycolic Acid (alpha hydroxy acid/exfoliant), Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone (silicone slip agent), Glycerin (skin-repairing ingredient), Glyceryl Stearate, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol (thickeners), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) (emollient antioxidant), Sodium Hydroxide (pH adjuster), PEG-100 Stearate (thickener), Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (stabilized vitamin C/antioxidant), Tocopheryl Acetate (vitamin E/antioxidant), Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract (anti-irritant), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil (non-fragrant plant oil/antioxidant), Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Extract (antioxidant), Salix Nigra (Willow Bark) Extract, Allantoin (anti-irritants), Butylene Glycol (slip agent/stabilizer), Xanthan Gum (thickener), Disodium EDTA (chelating agent), sodium benzoate, phenoxyethanol (preservatives).


Glycolic acid doesn't play nice with some people's skin, but for me it seems to work exceptionally well. Luckily Paula's Choice sells this (and many of their other products) in sample packets so you can give it a trial run if you're not sure.

The packaging on this product isn't especially elegant: It's just a squeezy tube with a hole. Squish.

Paula's Choice RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion with 10% AHA dispenser

Personally I think it would be more convenient if it came in a bottle with a pump since I tend to use it immediately after I shower, but we can't have everything, can we?

Paula's Choice RESIST Skin Revealing Body Lotion with 10% AHA product

The texture of the lotion isn't especially thick, but it isn't super milky or runny either.

OK, now for the good stuff—here's why I prefer this over the other AHA body lotions I've tried:
  • Effectiveness. I noticed a big difference in how soft my skin felt after using this just once, and in a week or so my KP was reduced dramatically. Love. I didn't see such immediate results with the other lotions I tried.
  • Scent. This product is fragrance-free, and it doesn't really have much of a natural scent to speak of. Some AHA lotions/treatments have a vaguely sour, cat pee-esque smell that is rather unappealing. If anything, this smells slightly like school glue? Inoffensive.
  • Texture. This lotion has a nice consistency and sinks into the skin easily. I've noticed that all AHA body lotions tend to make my skin feel a bit "clammy" right after I've used them, but that sensation dissipates the quickest with this lotion.

So yeah, in case you weren't sure, I love it. This may actually be a holy grain product for me—the only aspect of it that I don't love is the price. At $27 for 7oz, it's more expensive than some of the other options I tried (though not ridiculously pricey). Also, Paula's Choice does seem to have sales on their exfoliant products pretty often (Including now! More info below.)

Here are a few other random observations:
  • This stuff can make you feel sort of flushed/tingly for a bit, so I would highly recommend not putting it on raw skin. That includes freshly-shaved legs. You won't die if you do it, but it will sting.
  • I use this at night because AHA products can make you more photosensitive. I wear sunscreen during the day anyway, but better safe than crispy.
  • I know from past experience that if you stop exfoliating, the KP will come back. I feel like once I sort of have it "under control" I can drop down to using this every other day instead of daily though.





What do you think of Paula's Choice 10% AHA Body Lotion? If you have KP or just generally rough/dry skin, what are your favorite products for combating it?



Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.
 

16 comments:

  1. If you've tried them, how does this compare to AmLactin or Lac-Hydrin 5? My biggest complaint with those is the clammy feeling you mentioned. Lac-Hydrin was OK, but AmLactin took 5ever to sink in for me.

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  2. I haven't tried Lac-Hydrin 5, but AmLactin definitely stayed "clammy" longer on me. That was probably the worst offender of all of them in that sense, actually. And now I'm adding Lac-Hydrin to my list because I must try ALL OF THEM. (Within a reasonable price range, of course.)

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  3. Oh, I have "chicken skin" too lol! I'll keep this product in mind next time I need something. Am-Lactin didn't do crap for me and it was expensive. The most effective thing I've used is the Dermadoctor KP Duty lotion. That one is really pricey but worked awesome. The past year or so I've stuck with the much more affordable Bio-Oil. I didn't think it would work but it totally helped with the backs of my arms though not really my legs. Thanks for sharing this!

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  4. I've never heard of Dermadoctor KP Duty - will check it out, thanks for the suggestion. AmLactin was kind of a bust for me in general ... what I discovered after using it is that the pH is a little bit high, so it may not even exfoliate all that well. I think it works to alleviate dry skin but not so much for KP. I also tried Alpha Hydrox Silk Wrap Body Lotion, which is a little cheaper than the Paula's Choice 10% AHA Lotion and it performed pretty well. I still think the Paula's Choice lotion is the best one though!

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  5. I totally just bought the Paula's Choice after I wrote my comment lol! Looking fwd to trying it! They sell Dermadoctor at Ulta and Sephora I think. I'd def. wait for a coupon or sale.

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  6. Oh, I'd like to try something like this for my scaly dino elbows, but I'd be wary of using an acid on the rest of my body. I'm pretty sure prolonged use could affect my tattoos. I don't think I'd spend that kind of money just for my elbows, though. Ah, well. I might get some samples and see how that goes.

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  7. You raise an interesting point. I don't have tattoos so I don't know much about tattoo care, but since this stuff is also supposedly good for removing brown spots it might have an impact on them! But as an elbow cream, worth a try. You know what else this would probably be good for? Dry feet.

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  8. I think I have KP too. There are more bumps sometimes and other times not so much but I didn't think there as anything to make them go away. They don't really bother me that much though. The price of this is pretty pricey though.

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  9. Nope, definitely not cheap. Exfoliation of any type may help get rid of KP - when I was younger my mom told me she dealt with hers using a scrubby washcloth, and that seemed to help. If you ever want to experiment, Alpha Hydrox Silk Wrap Body Lotion also works fairly well and is about half the price of this one. I don't think the formula is as nice as Paula's Choice though.

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  10. HMM I def don't exfoliate my body but have been wanting to buy a nice scrub for a while. I will also look for that lotion. Thanks!

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  11. I have a little KP, but it doesn't really bug me at that much. That being said, I'm so happy this product gives some results. I would try this.

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  12. If the bumps don't bother you I wouldn't worry about it too much - it's not like having KP will cause you health problems or something. I just try to get rid of them for the sake of vanity, haha!

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  13. "better safe than crispy" -- words to live by

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  14. I like LacHydrin 5 a lot, it's not as strong as PC (only 5% lactic acid) but the texture is non-sticky and it smells like glue, too. It's definitely under $20 for 8 oz.

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  15. Perhaps I should get some T-shirts and bumper stickers printed up with that slogan.

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  16. I found it on the CVS website for about $15! Definitely affordable. And probably better for sensitive skin, since the PC stuff can cause a bit of a tingle.

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