Aloe vera or AHA: which for what need

Soothing or exfoliating: these are two opposing directions. And that is precisely why you don't choose between the two — you alternate them throughout the week.

Two Contrary Movements

An alpha-hydroxy acid removes: it breaks down the bonds holding dead cells to the surface, which then detach themselves. Aloe vera gel provides: water, a hydrophilic film, a sensation of freshness.

One stimulates, the other repairs. A routine that only stimulates eventually produces reactive skin; a routine that only soothes never improves texture. The combination is the only sustainable approach.

What AHAs Actually Provide

A more even skin texture in three to four weeks, a brighter complexion in six to eight weeks, and a partial reduction of old marks over three months. On oily skin, they also limit clogged pores by removing dead surface cells.

In return, they impose a non-negotiable constraint: daily sun protection. The layer that emerges after exfoliation is younger and marks more easily, and without protection, the acid works against its own results.

What Aloe Vera Adds

It improves neither texture nor complexion over time. What it provides is the immediate comfort that makes exfoliation tolerable, and the hydration of a surface that the acid has made more permeable.

It's a modest yet decisive role. Most exfoliating routines fail due to abandonment, not lack of effectiveness, and what sustains is as important as what progresses.

The Weekly Schedule

Two evenings of acid, spaced out. The other five, just the gel under a cream. On acid evenings, wait twenty minutes after application before applying the gel, to allow the acid time to work at its pH.

For sensitive skin, start with a single weekly application and double it every three weeks. The final rhythm is the same, the path is longer, and that's what makes it achievable.

According to Skin Type

Oily skin: up to three acid applications per week, aloe vera on other days. Combination skin: two, all over. Dry skin: two maximum, with a lactic acid rather than a glycolic, and a rich cream on top.

Sensitive skin: start with aloe vera alone for three weeks, then introduce the acid. Strengthening comfort before introducing an active ingredient avoids the discomfort phase that leads to giving up.

Important Precautions

Never combine two acids on the same evening, or an acid and a retinoid. Do not increase the concentration when results stagnate — it's almost always the rhythm that's the issue. Do not apply to broken skin.

Our AHA lactic acid peel offers the gentlest path in the family, and the gentle cleansing foam with aloe vera prepares the skin without stripping it.

How to Know Which Direction You're Missing

If the skin feels tight, reddens, or reacts easily, comfort is missing, and you should start there. If it's comfortable but dull, if the texture is uneven, or if old marks persist, exfoliation will make a difference.

Healthy skin is not judged by its immediate glow but by four signs: it is supple, does not feel tight after cleansing, does not shine unevenly, and tolerates temperature changes. These benchmarks are better than a magnifying mirror.

What Promotes Surface Renewal

The superficial layer renews itself in about twenty-eight days in a young adult, longer with age. An acid accelerates the detachment of already dead cells; it does not change the speed at which new ones form.

That's why you judge after six weeks and not before. What is seen in the first week is due to the immediate effect of a smoothed surface, and that effect does not indicate what will follow.

On Excess Sebum and Oily Skin

Regularly removing dead cells limits clogging and improves overall appearance. This is a real benefit of acids for this skin type, provided you do not exceed three weekly applications.

Beyond that, the surface becomes fragile and discomfort sets in. The soothing layer then becomes indispensable, which brings us back to the alternation described above: both, not one or the other.

Possible Reactions, and What to Do About Them

Brief stinging upon application is normal with an acid. Redness that persists for several hours, significant flaking, or a burning sensation are not: you should space out applications, not stop.

Resuming with one application every five days resolves most situations in a week. For irritations that last beyond that, professional medical advice is necessary.

Sun, a Non-Negotiable Constraint

Exfoliated skin exposes a younger layer, which marks more quickly. Without daily protection, an acid produces the opposite of what is desired for the complexion. This is not a comfort precaution but a condition of use.

Antioxidants usefully supplement this protection by limiting downstream damage, without ever replacing it.

What Promotes Healthy Skin, Beyond Products

Sleep, hydration through drinking, limiting tobacco, and controlled exposure weigh more heavily than the contents of a bottle. These are known levers, often dismissed because they are less immediate than a purchase.

Skincare comes as a complement. It maintains and improves the surface; it does not compensate for what happens elsewhere, and it is more honest to say so than to suggest otherwise.

Antioxidants in This Routine

They limit the damage caused by free radicals produced by the sun and pollution. Thanks to their properties, they usefully complement sun protection without ever replacing it: one acts downstream, the other prevents upstream.

They can be used in the morning, before the filter, and do not conflict with an acid applied in the evening or with a soothing layer. This is an additional step, not a trade-off.

On the Face and Elsewhere

Acids are also used on the body — arms, legs, back — where the skin is thicker and tolerates higher concentrations. Soothing layers are just as useful afterwards.

Avoid the eye contour area, where the skin is thinner and reacts first, unless using a dedicated formula. This area requires patience rather than potency.

A Better Reading of Results

Photograph your face at the same time and in the same place every four weeks. This is the only method that shows slow changes, which the daily mirror completely hides.

Three months of hindsight are enough to decide. If nothing has changed, it's the protocol that needs to be revisited before the product — most often the rhythm, rarely the formula.