By Jade Yeo
I was scrolling through my Instagram feed one day when I stopped at this product post from one of my favourite brands in the universe, Paula’s Choice.
A body exfoliant with 2% salicylic acid? I’ve been using the brand’s Exfoliating Treatment on my face for two years now and it’s done wonders for my cystic acne, but using a similar BHA-infused product on my body seemed a little unnecessary – until I learned that salicylic acid could help get rid of keratosis pilaris, otherwise known as “chicken skin” (how lovely).
Since the beginning of 2017, I’ve had a bout with the little known skin condition that left rough, unsightly patches on my upper arms. If you didn’t know, keratosis pilaris is a skin condition where keratin builds up on skin, forming hard, scaly “plugs” that block up hair follicles. These plugs usually form in groups, which result in the rough “chicken skin” texture that characterises it.
It can occur at any area of the body that isn’t the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet, so it’ll usually show up on the arms, legs and even around the butt. Oh, I know – it’s not always cute. It can get itchy at times too, but it isn’t life-threatening; just another first world problem I have to deal with. Anyway, I was curious to find out if this would actually work, so here are my thoughts on the Paula’s Choice Resist Weightless Body Treatment.
PROS
As with most Paula’s Choice products, you won’t find any harsh components and artificial fragrances on the ingredients list, which is the best news for skin that’s reactive to anything and everything, like mine. Upon application, its light gel-cream texture melts into the skin quickly and it doesn’t leave a tacky residue behind. Instead, it made my skin silky to the touch – and that’s just from the very first use, mind you. After spending three solid weeks with this baby, I can safely say that this is the beauty product I never knew I needed in my life. Not only did it make the keratosis pilaris on my arms disappear, it smoothed out the skin around my elbows too – something my body scrub keeps failing to do.
Since salicylic acid works to exfoliate deep within the pores, it helps to prevent ingrown hairs as well, which made for a nice surprise when I shaved my legs the week after I’d started using this. It’s a weird sight when you can’t stop stroking your thighs and calves subconsciously in public. Do I count this as a drawback? Making everyone else feel uncomfortable because my legs have never felt this smooth in all 25 years of existence? Nah, that’s a boon in my book. And that doesn’t even mark the end of my praises. Initially, I was a little hesitant to try this out on my back for fear that my tattoo would react negatively, but a little patch test and several more uses proved there was nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it cleared up a couple of blemishes – the ultimate godsend.
CONS
While the formula is indeed fragrance-free, it does contain melon extract, which gives it a slight scent. And because it’s blended with salicylic acid, it can come across a little sharp for sensitive noses, but give it a while to sink in – it dissipates after a few minutes, and it actually smells quite pleasant. Okay, maybe this isn’t a con after all.
VERDICT
From the title alone, it’s pretty evident that this was gonna be one hell of a glowing review. It’s not clickbait at all, because it’s the absolute truth, and I’m not one to mince my words when it comes to product reviews. A quick thing to note about salicylic acid though, is that you shouldn’t be using it twice daily. Start out by using it on alternate evenings and monitor your skin condition as the days go by. If your skin’s starting to dry up and flake, limit your use to once a week. That should do the trick. Ultimately, it’s a stellar product that far exceeded my expectations, and I’ve already purchased a backup tube which arrived yesterday.✨
Paula’s Choice Resist Weightless Body Treatment 2% BHA, $45. Available from paulaschoice.sg.
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