What is Glycolic Acid and how should you use it?
What is it?
Glycolic is a alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) its an ingredient found in fruit sugars such as lime and papaya and is the gold standard in chemical exfoliation.
What are the benefits?
Our skin cells are constantly dying and regenerating, dead skin cells can clump together and embed in your pores causing dullness and acne – glycolic acid unglues dead skin cells from each other and encourages new cells to grow. The result is a brighter and smoother skin. Glycolic helps prevents wrinkles at it can increase collagen and elastin production, freckles, sun damage and melanoma respond well to glycolic and it is great for acne prone skin, it helps with blackheads, as it unclogs the pores and minimises pore size.
How to use it?
Products containing glycolic should be used as part of your night time routine as the the product can cause photosensitivity. Whilst using this product it extra important to always use as SPF during the day ( we would recommend you do that regardless of using glycolic products).
Caution
Allergic reactions to Glycolic are very rare, its super safe, however it’s important to note that glycolic can irritate inflammatory conditions such as rosacea, eczema or inflammatory acne. If in doubt try to test the product first on a test spot such as behind the ear. Oily skins tolerate glycolic products well, usually home products containing around 10% glycolic can be used on a regular basis however if you have a dry skin using products containing glycolic twice a week would be enough initially. Always follow with a moisturiser.
- You shouldn’t use other exfoliates whilst using glycolic.
Professional Treatments
Professional peels carried out by a qualified aesthetician or dermatologist use a higher concentration of glycolic than you would use at home. We used a range of peels by Mesoestetic. These Mesopeels offer concentrations of glycolic acid up to 50%. Its good tolerability by the skin and low molecular size give it outstanding transepidermal penetration capacity. A course of six peels is recommended.