About Glycolic Acid
Glycolic acid is probably one of the well known groups of chemicals called as fruit acids or medically called as AHA or alpha-hydroxy acids. The acid is mainly extracted from sugarcane which makes it a natural product. Additionally citric acids from oranges and from other fruits also come under the same category of glycolic acids. This acid is also often used for industrial purpose as degreasing and rust removal and so pure glycolic acids can be extremely dangerous to your body. Additionally the government also considers that any product with glycolic acids concentration of above 10 percent to be a dangerous material.
The Uses of Glycolic Acids
Most of the consumers know that glycolic acid does not mainly form industrial use but commonly as cosmetic use. The glycolic acid products are often used as natural skin exfoliants and as moisturizers even though there is much debate about its effectiveness and safety. Some experts suggest that the glycolic acid products with concentration of less than 10 percent of glycolic acid are particularly useless. There reason is that most of the large scale cosmetic producers might not increase the glycolic acid levels due to the fear of class action and liability lawsuits. However there are some small scale cosmetic companies which have high end clients also provide glycolic acid products with at least 10 percent of glycolic acids concentration.
Glycolic acid products basically work as exfoliating agent due to their high acidity and easy solubility. When they are placed on the skin as an exfoliating gel or cream, the glycolic acids penetrates under the damaged upper skin layer to destroy the glue which holds dead skin on its surface. Therefore as this skin is burned off chemically, some other ingredients carry individual flakes away while water rinse helps in neutralizing the remaining acids. The result you get from these glycolic acid products is a much smoother skin surface with a youthful appearance. The other benefit is the ability of glycolic acid products to draw moisturizers to newly exfoliated skin surface. Therefore you find most cosmetic counters selling a complete package of skin care products where the remaining alpha-hydroxy line includes neutralizers and moisturizer to offset the corrosive actions of the acid.
The cosmetic glycolic acid products that contain moisturizers and exfoliation might also leave the individual’s skin especially sensitive to sun rays, and so most care experts would recommend using sunscreen after using glycolic acids exfoliating products. This means that if 10 percent of glycolic acid concentration can cause concerns over skin damage the other use might be even more controversial. A few customers who seek more of a complete exfoliation might often opt for chemical peel. Generally this chemical peel often involves careful scrubbing of skin which is followed by a powerful AHA application like glycolic acid. The concentration level of glycolic acid in chemical peels can generally be around 50 percent or even more. The industrial suppliers of glycolic acid even limit the concentration to just 70 percent so that it does become a very powerful chemical process.
Most often after the process of chemical peel the skin of the user would look as if it was extremely sunburned. There are several days required for complete recovery after the chemical glycolic acids peel procedure. Some experts of these glycolic acid products say that the process might appear unsightly or dangerous but the outcome is surely worth the momentary discomfort.
Benefits of Glycolic Acids
Even though the beneficial effects of glycolic acid treatments are well known and well acknowledged, the details of how they improve the appearance of your skin is still a matter of speculation and research. These glycolic acid products are fond to work through a mixture of reducing inflammation that promotes early removal of dry skin scales to optimize moisturization. Studies have also shown that these glycolic acid products also cause an measurable improvement in the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. In some specific studies these fine lines were improved nearly one-third just after 3 weeks of using glycolic acid products. The improvements in the photodamage through glycolic acid are also are also believed to occur which is often discussed in expert publications.
These glycolic acid products are also useful in the treatment of acne prone or problem prone skin when used in the circumstance of product which also includes salicylic acids. Some recent studies also suggest that salicylic and glycolic acid combination products might also be more beneficial in treating acne. As these glycolic acid products are acid based they are neutralized at higher pH’s and are irritating at lower pH’s. The makers of these products consider this fact when formulating glycolic acid products so that they maximize the efficacy and reduce irritancy. These products have also become renowned because they truly do noticeably improvements in the appearance of the skin in most of the people who use them.