I've read from many redditors that western BHAs are better, but I've had so much trouble with them. They over exfoliate my skin and I never see results. This BHA I put on, leave for 20 mins as usual, and instead of my skin being an oily, tight, bright red pussey mess, my skin feels hydrated somehow, and I experience no purging. I was scared to introduce this as I am on 0.04% tretanoin, but I have had no problems, some peeling but it's very manageable, and the new skin is smooth, seeing improvement with acne, more so than with tretanoin alone. very happy, better than expected. nice lotion consistency, no smell, no burning or itching. will repurchase. this product lived up to the hype