Bha impostors

Products boasting that they contain a natural source of salicylic acid (BHA) usually add willow bark. Willow bark contains salicin, a substance that when taken orally is converted by the digestion process to salicylic acid. That means the process of converting willow bark to salicylic acid requires the presence of enzymes to turn the salicin into salicylic acid. The claim that willow bark, especially in the tiny amount used in cosmetics, can mimic the effectiveness of salicylic acid on skin is in all likelihood impossible. However, willow bark may indeed have some anti-inflammatory benefits for skin because, in this form, it appears to retain more of its aspirin-like composition.