Understanding Cosmetic Ingredients - Glycolic Acid

You have often encountered this in peeling agents called AHA

Let's take a look at the "Glycolic Acid" component.

 

The EWG Skin Deep rating is 4, which is an average rating.

 

Glycolic acid belongs to the hydroxy acid family and is classified into alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA), beta-hydroxy acids (BHA), polyhydroxy acids (PHA), and bionic acids (BA). You have likely seen AHA and BHA frequently in cleansing or peeling products. Nowadays, if you look closely, you can also find PHA products.

 

 

Functions within cosmetics

 

 

pH acid components

 

Glycolic acid is used for keratolytic/exfoliation, whitening/brightening, and anti-aging purposes.

In general cosmetics, it is safe to use in cosmetics if the concentration is 10% or less (product pH >= 3.5).

 

For professional use in aesthetics clinics or hospitals, if the product is intended to be washed off immediately after brief contact, it can be used up to a 30% concentration (product pH >= 3.0).

 

Glycolic acid, an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA), has the smallest molecular weight and simplest structure among the hydroxy acid family.

 

Since it is water-soluble, you can consider it a representative ingredient when it comes to peeling agents.

 

It is used in a wide variety of products, ranging from cleansers for exfoliation and acne products to anti-aging products and moisturizing products for hydration.

 

Causes skin irritation and photosensitivity

Glycolic Acid helps moisturize by removing old dead skin cells to normalize the skin's regeneration cycle (28 days, margin of error +7, -7 days), and also helps prevent aging and make the skin elastic by increasing collagen synthesis.

You can achieve a whitening effect by exfoliating dead skin cells, and using ampoules or nourishing creams after using AHA ingredients helps beneficial active ingredients penetrate better.

 

However, but

Continuous exfoliation makes the skin sensitive to UV rays, so using it for more than a month may increase skin sensitivity.
In that case, if you stop using it, the sensitivity will disappear within about a week.

Therefore, when using basic skincare products or cleansing products with glycolic acid as the main ingredient
You need to pay more attention to using sunscreen.

My skin is stinging.

 

Hypersensitive, sensitive skin
Glycolic acid has a low pH and small molecular weight, so it penetrates the skin rapidly, causing irritation.
The lower the concentration, the more irritating it can be. For this reason, cosmetics are developed by adjusting the concentration to a pH of 3.5 to 4.5 to partially neutralize it.

While it reduces stimulation, it has the disadvantage of being less effective.