What does glycolic acid do to skin

Is your skin looking lackluster and uneven? There’s a buzzy ingredient that can help, and it goes by the name of glycolic acid. And no, you don’t need to be concerned about letting an acid near your skin. While we may traditionally associate the word acid with something harsh, alpha hydroxy acids—like glycolic acid—are known for their varied skin care benefits. Which is to say, when used correctly, it’s not necessary to fear being left with red, irritated skin. With that worry behind us, let’s move on to learning all about glycolic acid. We tapped board-certified dermatologist, and Skincare.com consultant, Dr. Michael Kaminer to learn more about the benefits of glycolic acid and why exactly it’s so highly sought-after in skin care routines. WHAT IS GLYCOLIC ACID? Just because glycolic acid is popular at the moment, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily new. The ingredient, which is derived from sugar cane, is the most common fruit acid and has been around for more than 20 years. If you haven’t been incorporating glycolic acid into your skin care routine for that long, there’s no need to panic. Once you hear the benefits of glycolic acid, we’re willing to bet it’ll be front and center in your routine in no time. 4 BENEFITS OF GLYCOLIC ACID Now that we know what glycolic acid is derived from, let’s understand the benefits that result from its use. 1. Has a brightening effect. To understand how glycolic acid can help your skin, it’s important to first understand more about your skin’...

Can Glycolic Acid Double as Deodorant? First, knowing the distinction between deodorant and antiperspirant is important, as people often use them interchangeably. In a nutshell, antiperspirant products address both sweat and odor, while deodorant only helps with the smell factor. “Glycolic acid won’t do anything for sweating less," says The Benefits of Glycolic Acid for Armpits In addition to tackling body odor, glycolic acid has other game-changing ways to help people’s underarm areas. If dark armpits are a concern, “glycolic acid helps exfoliate the top layer of cells, where, most of the time, darker pigment lays," says Dr. Viera. "It’s not a bleaching agent, but it’s an effective way to treat hyperpigmentation." Who Should Try It Though glycolic acid is known to be sensitive-skin friendly, “it’s not to say that it could never irritate,” says LoGerfo. The key is not to use it every day, avoid high concentrations, and avoid using it with other active, irritation-prone ingredients. Otherwise, “glycolic acid on your underarms can cause dryness, erythema, irritation, and inflammation — especially if it's used too often or in combination with other irritant ingredients such as retinol," says Dr. Viera. In fact, irritating the area could actually make skin darker.

Glycolic acid is a type of alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). Alpha hydroxy acids are natural acids found in foods. Glycolic acid comes from sugarcane. Alpha hydroxy acids like glycolic acid work by removing the top layers of dead People use glycolic acid for Don't confuse glycolic acid with other alpha hydroxy acids, including citric acid, • Acne. Applying glycolic acid to the skin seems to help reduce acne in people 12 years and older who have mild to moderate acne. • Aging skin. Applying glycolic acid to the skin seems to reduce • Acne scars. Applying glycolic acid to the skin, alone or together with microneedling, seems to reduce acne scars. • Dark skin patches on the face (melasma). Applying glycolic acid to the skin, alone or together with other treatments, seems to reduce mixed-type and epidermal-type melasma. But it doesn't seem to help dermal-type melasma, which occurs in a deeper layer of the skin. There is interest in using glycolic acid for a number of other purposes, but there isn't enough reliable information to say whether it might be helpful. When taken by When applied to the skin: Glycolic acid is likely safe when used in products containing concentrations of 10% glycolic acid or less. But it is possibly unsafe when used in products containing higher concentrations. Concentrations of greater than 10% glycolic acid should only be used while under the care of a dermatologist. Using high concentration products inappropriately can cause serious skin reactions. When tak...

Ready to feel more confident when reading your beauty products' ingredient labels? Enter, the Allure Ingredient Index . In this comprehensive guide, you'll find everything you need to know about the most in-demand (and under-the-radar) ingredients in your favorite skin-care products. Although Y2K beauty trends are coming back around — butterfly clips, glycolic acid, have gone from only being available in a dermatologist's office to Of all the AHAs — lactic, citric, and malic, included — glycolic acid has the smallest particle size with the simplest structure, so "it is the most powerful and effective since it can penetrate our skin the best," Dr. Zubritsky adds. How does glycolic acid benefit skin? Need something to smooth and brighten your skin stat? Glycolic acid will do the trick. As it dives into skin, the tiny-but-mighty AHA loosens and sloughs away dead skin cells on the top layers of skin, which cause dullness and roughness, says Ohio-based board-certified dermatologist Oh yeah, and the powerful acid helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles, too, due to its small size. "It can actually penetrate into the deeper dermis, where our collagen and elastin reside," Dr. Zubritsky explains. "Glycolic acid works on fibroblasts to stimulate new collagen, resulting in firmer, tighter-appearing skin." Listen to Allure's The Science of Beauty Podcast: Ep. 6 | Acids Michelle Lee and Jenny Bailey try a product that proves how powerful acids can be. Then, dermatologist Laurel Naversen G...

Discover how Glycolic Acid works for skin and learn how to use glycolic acid in your skincare routine for visible results and benefits. What are Glycolic Acid benefits for skin? Glycolic Acid is an ingredient which has many benefits for the skin and visibly improves its appearance. As it works to Glycolic Acid to Exfoliate Skin Glycolic Acid is a common chemical exfoliant for skin. Whilst the term chemical exfoliant may sound scary, a chemical exfoliant like glycolic acid can be a gentler exfoliant for skin in comparison to physical scrubs with beads or a gritty texture. Glycolic Acid to Visibly Improve Skin Texture As glycolic acid helps to increase skin cell turnover it can lead to visible improvements in skin texture for a smoother looking complexion. Glycolic Acid has been shown to improve the look of skin texture and visibly reduce the size of pores on the skin. Glycolic Acid can also help to visibly smooth fine wrinkles . Glycolic Acid to Brighten Skin Tone As it works to exfoliate the skin Glycolic Acid has also been shown to help visibly improve the skin tone. In studies Glycolic Acid has been shown to visibly brighten the skin tone and is known as an ingredient which can help Glycolic Acid and Sensitive Skin One important note about Glycolic Acid: it’s a photosensitive ingredient which means it can cause increased skin sensitivity – especially to the sun. As such, make sure you wear your daily sunscreen, wear protective clothing, and limit sun exposure. Lancôme Pr...

So you want to exfoliate your skin. Great! But before you go to town with scrubs and peels aplenty, you’ll want to weigh your formula options. Physical or chemical? Cleanser or serum? If you're looking for a radiant, smooth skin texture, allow us to introduce you to glycolic acid—a superstar ingredient for sloughing off dead skin cells with ease. Peruse our full glycolic acid guide below (which includes product recommendations!), and you'll want to add it to your beauty lineup, stat. Glycolic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) derived from plants (typically sugar-cane, pineapple, and beets). “Alpha-hydroxy acids are used for chemical exfoliation of the skin,” board-certified dermatologist It also has the smallest molecular weight of all the AHAs. “This means it can go deep down into your dermis to break up the bonds holding the dead skin cells together,” says board-certified dermatologist “Last, one of the most beneficial qualities: Glycolic acid helps boost collagen production!” Says Idriss. “By promoting collagen synthesis, it can help improve skin elasticity and maintain that bounce in your skin.” King echoes the statement: “Studies have shown, for example, that six months of topical glycolic acid stimulates a ,” she notes. That’s why you can find the active in many Short answer? Any skin type can benefit from this AHA, but those with aging skin might find it particularly helpful, thanks to its collagen-stimulating abilities. Even those with sensitive skin can still ta...

If you’re into skin care, you’ve likely come across many As such, if you’re on the hunt for a Keep reading to get the rundown on the beauty benefits of glycolic acid, and some amazing products to help you reap them. What Is Glycolic Acid? First things first, if you’re new to this ingredient, let’s define what it is before we discuss how to use it. Glycolic acid is one of the What Are the Benefits of Glycolic Acid? Glycolic acid has a lot of benefits, and its versatile nature is what makes it a skin care favorite. 1. Younger-Looking Skin Glycolic acid can contribute to the appearance of younger-looking skin, since it helps shed dead skin cells and lessen the appearance of dark spots, as the 2. Faster Product Absorption Alpha hydroxy acids like glycolic acid can prep your skin to better absorb your other skin care products, leading to more effective results. 3. Fewer Wrinkles The 4. Reduction of Dark Spots Glycolic acid is also recognized as an effective anti-aging resurfacing ingredient for evening skin tone and dark spots. What Are the Disadvantages of Glycolic Acid? According to the How to Use Glycolic Acid Safely Before you start using a skin care product formulated with glycolic acid, make sure you’re prepared. Alpha hydroxy acids like glycolic acid can increase your skin’s sun sensitivity, so you’ll need to take sun safety and protection seriously. The FDA recommends using sunscreen, wearing protective clothing, and limiting sun exposure, which means seeking shade and ...