What's Actually Inside Ahaa's Acne-Fighting Routine

If you've looked at our ingredient lists and wondered what's actually doing the work, here's the honest breakdown — what's in each product, and why it's there.

AWAKENING — 12% AHA + BHA Exfoliating Serum

This is the step that clears the way for everything else. The formula combines:

• Glycolic acid — exfoliates the surface gently, smoothing texture and fading the look of old marks
• Lactic acid — softer than glycolic, improves hydration while it exfoliates
• Citric acid — brightens and helps even out tone
• Salicylic acid — the only one of the four that works inside the pore, clearing the buildup that actually causes breakouts

See AWAKENING

THAT CREAM — Peptide & Barrier Repair Moisturiser

Exfoliating acids only work long-term if your skin barrier can keep up with them. THAT CREAM is built around peptides that support that barrier directly — the same structure niacinamide is known for strengthening — so the skin doing the healing isn't also the skin being stripped.

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THE SHIELD⁺ — SPF 30 Antioxidant Sunscreen

Skin that's actively exfoliating is more sensitive to UV damage, not less. THE SHIELD⁺ is lightweight and non-greasy specifically so it doesn't get skipped — the most effective sunscreen is the one you'll actually wear every day.

See THE SHIELD⁺

Why These Three, and Not Ten

Each product here has one job and does it well, instead of every product trying to do a bit of everything. That's deliberate — see why in Your Skin Doesn't Need More. It Needs Better.

Conclusion

Exfoliate. Repair. Protect. Three products, three jobs, and nothing in the formula that isn't there for a reason.

See the full routine