One Bottle of This Liquid Exfoliant Sells Every 7 Seconds, and Shoppers Say They 'Cannot Live Without It'

I've been exfoliating since I was a mystified teen with absolutely zero clue how to clear up her skin. Of course, I began my exfoliation journey as most do: with harsh physical exfoliants (often containing ground-up nuts) on tender young hormonal skin, almost certainly exacerbating my skin woes. When I grew up and started working in beauty, I learned about the magic that is chemical exfoliation—AHAs, BHAs, and more. After the copious amounts of trial and error that come with testing products for a living, I found a formula that I know my teenage self would have lost her mind over: It's Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, the magic sauce my skin was always missing.

To buy: $24 (was $30); paulaschoice.com.

Don't get me wrong: I didn't just discover this product out of nowhere. It's a beauty editor holy grail, a cult classic, and according to the brand, one bottle sells every seven seconds. That said, I have no problem following instead of leading in this case; the formula works so well, I've barely gone astray and used other chemical exfoliants since I first tried it.

So what does the 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant do, exactly? The real question is, what doesn't it do? It's made with beta hydroxy acid (or as mentioned before, BHA), also known as salicylic acid. When applied, it mimics the natural exfoliation process of your skin, evening tone, and clearing pores in the process. The main difference between the Paula's Choice BHA and others on the market is that it is gentle—so gentle, in fact, that you can eventually use it twice a day as part of your normal skincare routine. I use it once per day, in the morning, and though I'm no longer a teen, sometimes I feel like it gives me the glowy teen skin I never got to have.

Other shoppers love it just as much as I do—in fact, one even says they "cannot live without it." The product has thousands of five-star reviews, with users saying it cleared up their acne, improved their overall skin tone, and even reduced the appearance of their pores.

"I had tons of enlarged pores and blackheads on my nose, chin, forehead, and parts of my cheeks," one wrote. "After using this twice a day, within a week or two, about 90 percent of those either disappeared, or became so small they don't even bother me anymore."

Some shoppers also lamented how long it took for them to find this product (relatable), and how it's changed their routine ever since.

"As I'm now in my 50s, I've been getting noticeably larger pores on my nose...I decided to try the liquid exfoliant as part of my routine, and all I can say is: WHY THE HECK DID I WAIT SO LONG? I cannot believe the results, why didn't I do this years ago?"

If you've tried Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, that passion is certainly relatable. If you haven't, head to the site and get a bottle for yourself, especially while it's on sale, and enjoy the glow that follows.