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Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel.

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel
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Masks & Peels
About this product

A rinse-off chemical peel containing 25% AHAs (glycolic, lactic, mandelic, and malic acids) and 2% BHA (salicylic acid), designed to exfoliate and treat post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and acne-prone skin.

Full ingredients

Water (Aqua), Aminomethyl Propanol, Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Mandelic Acid, Isoamyl Laurate, Tartaric Acid, Propanediol, Salicylic Acid, Malic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Clitoria Ternatea (Butterfly Pea) Flower Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Bisabolol, Allantoin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Xanthan Gum, Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Titanium Dioxide/​Ci 77891 (Cl 77891), Mica (Ci 77019), Phenoxyethanol

More from Paula's Choice 49 products · Guru Score 89% →

Guru Score

85%

Yay

7 experts · Strong agreement
Guru Certified
Broad expert consensus

What the gurus are saying

This peel earns consistent praise for its potency and elegant purple finish, though gurus stress it's strictly a once-weekly, 10-minute treatment. Dermatologists highlight its particular strength for dark marks left by acne; those with sensitive skin may find Paula's Choice's gentler mandelic-acid blend easier to tolerate than higher-concentration alternatives. The $45 price tag draws honest pushback, effective, but more affordable options exist for a rinse-off product.
Synthesized from 7 expert reviews · most recent take April 2026

What they liked

  • Purple iridescent finish
  • Improves skin texture
  • Helps with oiliness

What they flagged

  • Expensive for the size
  • Too much with other exfoliants

Type

Masks & PeelsLiquid

Key actives

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
No BS Beauty
No BS Beauty
89k subs
✓Yay
"The my pick is the [Paula's Choice]."
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"The my pick is the [Paula's Choice]."
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"It's a whopping $45 for 1 ounce. This is a peel, it's a rinse off product. It contains glycolic, lactic, mandelic, malic, tartaric, and salicylic acids so it has a whole heck of a lot of acids in here. It is strong. It is a peel. Since it's just a rinse off product, there's a lot of ones that are a little bit more affordable."
Doctorly
Doctorly
3.59M subs
✓Yay
"It works extremely well but it's meant to be used only once a week and you're supposed to leave it on for only about 10 minutes at a time. [...] If you have oily or acne prone skin, go with the 2% BHA liquid exfoliant. If you have more sensitive skin, go with the 6% mandelic 2% lactic acid solution. If you fall somewhere in between all of that and you have normal skin, go with their glycolic acid product."
Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert
Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert
55k subs
✓Yay
"Paula's Choice also makes a 25% AHA and a 2% BHA that is also really great."
Dr. Sam Ellis
Dr. Sam Ellis
898k subs
✓Yay
"Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel is a powerful product so I would not recommend using this more than once a week. I feel like it has the most potential to benefit people with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, like if you had a lot of acne and now you have dark marks left behind. This is the one to go to. I [...] like this one better than the ordinary because I like the blend of AHAs and I feel like it's more cosmetically elegant to use on the skin."
Top Pick: aha exfoliating peel for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
Hyram
Hyram
4.34M subs
✓Yay
"The Paula's Choice 25% AHA plus 2% BHA Exfoliant Peel, I've used this one, it has the most satisfying purple iridescent finish, and it works really well. I find it's like a nice luxury version of The Ordinary's peel mask. I personally love the results, I love the ingredients, I think it's great. [...] This is a good product, definitely more luxury, but I am a fan of the ingredients and the experience."
Dr Dray
Dr Dray
2.69M subs
✓Yay
"I like this product too. I reviewed it earlier this year. It has twenty-five percent alpha hydroxy acids, and those alpha hydroxy acids include glycolic, lactic, and mandelic. It also has salicylic acid. This is a product that you put onto the skin, leave on for ten minutes, and then rinse off and you only need to use it once a week. [...] It also has butterfly pea flour in it which has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds and gives it this kind of purplish coloration."
Cassandra Bankson
Cassandra Bankson
2.46M subs
✓Yay
"If you're afraid of the ordinary peel or don't think it'll work, Paula's Choice has a galactic unicorn one that's also a good alternative."
Sponsored
All 8 takes from Cassandra Bankson
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"Paula's Choice even has like a purple unicorn peel it's a little bit more gentle than the ordinaries but really really good"
Why is my skincare pilling? How to stop it - with Wishful Skincare!
"This is one from Paula's Choice. It's bright purple. This is potent, like we're talking ordinary chemical peeling solution potent. [...] It is 25 AHA and 2 BHA. Remember BHA is salicylic acid, so it's oil soluble, whereas AHA is water soluble. [...] But this might be too much for some people."
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"If you're afraid of the ordinary peel or don't think it'll work, Paula's Choice has a galactic unicorn one that's also a good alternative."
3 Alternatives to The Ordinary AHA BHA Peel If You Have Sensitive Skin
"This is substantially less potent on the skin, and even though my skin can tolerate both of these, my skin can tolerate this a little bit more. This is more gentle on my skin and on clients and patients and other people's skin as well. It [...] has mandelic acid, which comes from bitter almonds and [...] is a bit more gentle on the skin, and it also has allantoin, which is very soothing to the skin."
Dermatologist Approved Skincare Is 20% Off For 5 More Hours During Dermstore’s Beauty Refresh Sale
"The 25 percent AHA 2 percent BHA exfoliating peel rinse-off treatment is a bright purple color. This is like a slightly more gentle version of the Ordinary's AHA BHA peel, but it turns you into a galactic unicorn. This is absolutely beautiful if you want to have fun and if you want to up your exfoliation game without actually going into clinic, this is it. It's worth it full price, but it's also worth it at 20 percent off."
The Best Products I’ve Ever Used As An Esthetician
"I usually have [...] this on hand and from Paula's Choice for people who are too afraid or who are building up to those larger chemical peels. If you're ever getting a chemical peel in office, number one make sure that your practitioner your care provider, make sure that you're esthetician, they need to be patch testing you. If they're not patch testing you, you're not getting a chemical peel from them. You want to make sure that you're not going to hyper pigment, you're not going to scar."
My Most Toxic Products According To Gwyneth Paltrow (SNARKY)
"Paula's Choice is an award-winning brand that many people actually see great results with, and Paula's Choice actually causes less irritation than a lot of the ingredients listed in the Goop microdermabrasion product. It's also literally a fraction of the price."
My 21 Favourite Skincare Discoveries Of 2021
"I'm grateful that this exists and that I have the chance to try it. But the sneaky sneaky details that are inside of this little purple cream, you're gonna have to wait for those because we have a video extravaganza for you. [...] I love this purple magic. I am a purple person and I am coming to terms with it. But there are some surprises with this product that you're gonna have to wait for."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Salicylic acid

Salicylic acid dissolves in oil, so it can get into a pore rather than just working on the surface. That is why it has long-standing evidence for blackheads and milder acne.

Source: DermNet

Alpha hydroxy acids

Alpha hydroxy acids loosen the bonds holding dead cells at the surface. The evidence supports smoother texture and more even tone over time, and they can leave skin more sensitive to sun.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Sunscreen filters

Sun protection is the best evidenced way to slow visible ageing, and the filters are what does the work. Mineral and chemical filters both protect when a product is applied thickly enough and often enough, which is where most people fall short rather than on the choice of filter.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel?

A rinse-off chemical peel containing 25% AHAs (glycolic, lactic, mandelic, and malic acids) and 2% BHA (salicylic acid), designed to exfoliate and treat post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and acne-prone skin.

Is Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel worth it?

Yes. All 7 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 85%.

What is Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel's Guru Score?

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel holds a Guru Score of 85%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 7 expert reviewers we have collected. It is also Guru Certified, our mark for products that hold broad approval across many expert reviewers.

Who is Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel best for?

Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliating Peel is generally suited to oily skin and acne-prone skin.

Cheaper alternatives the gurus rate.

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