NeoStrata vs Exuviance: PHA or AHA, and How to Tell

If you're trying to decide between NeoStrata and Exuviance, you're almost certainly asking the wrong question. The two brands come out of the same research programme, share the same patented acid technologies, and both sell strong AHA formulas and gentle PHA formulas. Picking the brand first tells you very little about how the product will behave on your face.

The decision that actually matters is which acid class you buy, and at what percentage. Get that right and either brand works. Get it wrong and you'll end up with a 25% peel when you needed a 4% pad, or a mild toner when you wanted resurfacing. This guide shows you how to read the label, how to tell the two acid classes apart in real products, and what changes in your routine when you switch between them.

Why the brand comparison is a red herring

NeoStrata was founded in 1988 by dermatologist Dr Eugene Van Scott and dermopharmacologist Dr Ruey Yu, whose work in the 1970s established the cosmetic effects of alpha hydroxy acids on skin. Exuviance is the consumer-facing line from the same company, built on the same patent portfolio and the same acid chemistry.

The split between them is a distribution decision, not a strength decision. NeoStrata is positioned around professional and clinic channels; Exuviance is positioned as the retail range. Both use glycolic acid. Both use polyhydroxy acids. Neither is uniformly stronger than the other.

Two examples make the point. The Exuviance Performance Peel AP25 is a two-step at-home peel built on a 25% blend of glycolic acid, mandelic acid and gluconolactone, one of the most assertive things either brand sells. Meanwhile the NeoStrata PHA Renewal Pads contain 4% gluconolactone and are designed for daily use on reactive skin. The "gentle" brand makes the strongest peel; the "professional" brand makes one of the mildest daily exfoliants. Brand name tells you nothing. Percentage and acid class tell you everything.

AHA or PHA: the difference that decides it

If you want the groundwork on alpha and beta hydroxy acids, what they are, how they differ, and when a BHA is the better call, read our guide to AHAs and BHAs first. This piece covers the third class that guide doesn't: polyhydroxy acids.

Alpha hydroxy acids

Glycolic acid is the smallest of the commonly used hydroxy acids, which is why it moves through the surface of the skin quickly and why it's the workhorse in most resurfacing ranges. Lactic and mandelic acids are larger and correspondingly slower-acting. AHAs loosen the bonds between dead surface cells, so skin looks smoother and more even as those cells shed.

The trade-off is tolerance and sun behaviour. Higher-strength AHAs sting on compromised skin, and regulators take the sun question seriously. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends that AHA cosmetics carry a sunburn alert noting that the ingredient may increase the skin's sensitivity to the sun. Daily broad-spectrum SPF isn't optional alongside an AHA routine.

Polyhydroxy acids

PHAs, which is to say gluconolactone, lactobionic acid and maltobionic acid, were developed by the same researchers as a next-generation AHA. They're substantially larger molecules with multiple hydroxyl groups, and that structure changes their behaviour in three useful ways.

• They exfoliate more slowly. The larger molecule works across the surface more gradually, which is why PHAs are described as compatible with skin that reacts badly to glycolic acid, and why they're widely used for post-procedure care.
• They hold water. Those hydroxyl groups act as humectants, so a PHA product moisturises while it exfoliates rather than leaving skin feeling stripped.
• They carry antioxidant properties. A published review of PHAs in photoaged skin, co-authored by the researchers behind the technology, notes that most PHAs also behave as antioxidants and are compatible with clinically sensitive skin.

One honest caveat: much of the PHA literature comes from people connected to the brands that patented it. The tolerance advantage is well supported and easy to feel for yourself. Claims that PHAs match high-strength AHAs on every measure deserve more scepticism.

How do you tell what you are actually buying?

Ignore the brand on the front. Read the percentage and the acid name. Across both ranges, the pattern is consistent.

The AHA side

• NeoStrata Foaming Glycolic Wash: 18% glycolic acid with 2% lactobionic acid, written for people who already use glycolic comfortably.
• NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Lotion: a 10% AHA blend of glycolic and citric acids, usable on body as well as face.
• NeoStrata Clarify Oily Skin Solution Toner: 8% glycolic acid in a wipe-on solution, aimed at oilier, congested skin.
• Exuviance Daily Resurfacing Peel CA10: 10% citric acid in a leave-on pad. Mild for something with "peel" on the box, but citric acid is an alpha hydroxy acid, so it belongs on this side of the list.
• Exuviance Performance Peel AP25: a 25% AHA and PHA blend used twice weekly, not daily.
• Exuviance Glycolic Expert and Glycolic Perfecting Moisturisers: glycolic acid delivered in a moisturiser base rather than a leave-on treatment.

The PHA side

• NeoStrata Bionic Face Serum: 10% lactobionic acid, fragrance-free, designed for dry and reactive skin.
• NeoStrata Skin Active Exfoliating Wash: gluconolactone and maltobionic acid in a foaming cleanser, which is PHA exfoliation in a step you rinse straight off.
• NeoStrata Bionic Lotion: a 15% PHA blend of 12% gluconolactone and 3% lactobionic acid, the brand's "Bionic Acids".
• NeoStrata PHA Renewal Pads: 4% gluconolactone, the gentlest entry point in either range.
• Exuviance HydraSoothe Refresh Toner: gluconolactone with hyaluronic acid, alcohol-free.

CA10 is the one worth pausing on. It's genuinely gentle, it's sold as a daily peel, and none of that makes it a PHA. Citric acid carries three carboxyl groups and a single hydroxyl; the PHA class runs to gluconolactone, lactobionic acid and maltobionic acid, and nothing else in these ranges. Mild isn't the same as PHA, which matters most at the sun question below.

If you want to browse by chemistry rather than by brand, the PHA range and the glycolic acid range cut across every brand we stock, which is usually a more useful way to shop than starting from the NeoStrata or Exuviance hub pages.

Choosing by what your skin does, not what you call it

"Sensitive" is a label people apply to themselves for very different reasons. These four situations are more useful than a skin type.

Acids sting on you, every time. Start with a PHA and use it nightly rather than reaching for something stronger less often. The lowest-commitment version is a gluconolactone and maltobionic acid cleanser: it rinses off, so a bad reaction costs you one step, not your whole routine. From there, step up to a 4% gluconolactone pad or a 10% lactobionic serum. Consistency at a tolerable strength beats intensity you abandon after a fortnight.

You have used glycolic before and want more from it. An 8% glycolic toner or a 10% glycolic lotion is the sensible next rung. Jumping straight to an 18% cleanser or a 25% peel is how people end up with a stinging, flaking face and a drawer of unused products.

Your skin is flushed, tight or reacting to everything. Don't exfoliate harder. Step back to a PHA, rebuild tolerance over several weeks, and read our guide to what the skin barrier is and why it breaks down before adding anything else. Products formulated for easily irritated skin are a better place to start than another acid.

You have had a clinic treatment recently. PHAs are the class routinely used for post-procedure care, precisely because they exfoliate slowly and hold water. Follow whatever your practitioner told you, and keep AHAs out of the routine until they say otherwise.

What actually changes when you switch?

Swapping acid class isn't a like-for-like substitution. Four things change.

1. Frequency. Most PHA products are built for daily, sometimes twice-daily use. Higher-strength AHA treatments are usually two or three nights a week. Move from a PHA pad to a 25% peel and keep the same schedule, and you'll overdo it.
2. How the rest of the routine layers. An acid changes the surface your other actives land on. If you're also running a retinoid or a vitamin C, work out the order before you add anything. Our ingredient layering guide covers the combinations that clash.
3. Sun behaviour. AHA use comes with explicit sun-sensitivity labelling advice, and that covers a 10% citric acid pad exactly as much as a 25% glycolic peel. PHAs aren't subject to the same warning, but that's not a reason to skip SPF. UV exposure is what most exfoliation routines are trying to counteract in the first place.
4. What "working" feels like. AHAs announce themselves: tingling, a fast change in texture, sometimes visible flaking. PHAs mostly don't. Judging a PHA by whether it stings is the single most common reason people conclude it's doing nothing and abandon it in week two.

Where do most people go wrong?

• Stacking two acids without noticing. An 18% glycolic cleanser followed by a glycolic moisturiser is a much bigger dose than either product alone implies. Check every step, including cleansers and toners.
• Reading "peel" as strong and "toner" as mild. A 10% citric acid daily peel pad is a gentler AHA than an 18% glycolic cleanser, and a "toner" can be 8% glycolic acid. The format on the box is marketing; the acid and the percentage are the product.
• Assuming gentle means PHA. Plenty of mild products are simply weak AHAs, and they carry the AHA sun advice regardless of how little they sting. Only gluconolactone, lactobionic acid and maltobionic acid are PHAs.
• Buying the professional-looking brand for sensitive skin. This is exactly backwards. Look for those three PHA names on the label, whichever brand is on the bottle.
• Chasing tolerance upwards. Skin that copes with 4% gluconolactone isn't obliged to graduate to 25%. Plenty of people get everything they want from a PHA indefinitely.
• Changing three things at once. Add one exfoliant, give it four to six weeks, then judge it.

The practical answer

If you're new to chemical exfoliation, buy a PHA, from either brand, and use it daily for six weeks before deciding anything. If glycolic already suits you and you want more, move up one step within the AHA range rather than crossing to the strongest thing available. If your skin is reactive, PHA isn't a compromise or a beginner option; it's simply the appropriate chemistry.

Either way, the useful question was never NeoStrata or Exuviance. It was gluconolactone or glycolic, and once you know which one is in the bottle, the label does the choosing for you.