Click Here –>ย AHA Product Comparison Spreadsheet
Clicking on the link above will open up the complete Excel spreadsheet that I will update as I receive more information from companies, or tips from you all!
If you want to filter the data, you will need to click on “Data” –> “Filter views”–> “Create a temporary filter view”
*Currently, it has 88ย AHAs with information on the pH, concentration, free acid value, and cost per ounce*
Important Things to Note:
- This spreadsheet is meant to be a starting point to show that there are different products at various price points and strengths. This ONLY focuses on the percent of the featured AHA. It is important to also look at the complete ingredient list as some products might include other ingredients that could help reduce irritation, increase irritation, or provide additional benefits other than exfoliation.
- When companies listed a range of pH values, I went with the high end of the range.
- In products with blends, the pKa for the first acid listed in the ingredient list was used to calculate the free acid value. Therefore, the % free acid is a rough estimate for acid blends.
- A percentage may be listed in the name of the product, but that doesn’t indicate it’s free acid value. I left those percentages in so that you could find the correct product as some names only change in terms of percent acid (e.g., Garden of Wisdom Mandelic Acid 15% vs. Garden of Wisdom Mandelic Acid %10 Serum).
- It is helpful to look at the total acid percentage in addition to the free acid percentage. A larger overall acid percentage (found under the “total acid percentage” will have a buffering effect thanks to equilibrium).
- Two products with the same total acid percentage but different free acid percentages could give more similar results than two products with different total acid percentages but the same free acid percentage. (Thanks to @Labmuffinbeautyscience for pointing this out!)
- If formula’s change, the pH may change as well. Also, some countries may have slightly different formulations, so it is always beneficial to pH test your own products. ย For some pH strips and meters see this post.
pH value color key:
- Red = value provided by company
- Blue = value provided by Beautypedia
- Green = value provided by bloggers/reddit
- Purple = value provided by my own pH meter