Glycolic Acids

by Mike June 27, 2011

Glycolic Acids: Its use and Benefits in Skin Care

To start: What is Glycolic Acid? Glycolic acid is marketed mostly as Fruit acid. But there is a lot more to it.
To have a complete understanding of the acids role and use in Skin Care products we have to back track and try to understand how skin care was manufactured in the previous century. In the Forties and Fifties most Skin Care product were essentially made of Spermaceti Oil (from Sperm Whales) Paraffin Wax, Petrolatum, and for the more expensive and most progressive skin care products, manufacturer were using Lanolin and Olive Oil. (There is some evidence that Cleopatra used those last two oils along with Lotus flower extract) In the Sixties a French manufacturer (Yves Rocher) a pioneer of natural skin Care started to use Botanical extracts. At this time we had no evidence of the potency of the active ingredients. And, most of the botanical extracts available on the market, where extracted for the Tobacco Industry as flavoring agents. Only recently a standard has been established for the content of active ingredient in botanical extracts. Also the ph balance of the product where on the acid side of the scale. (The ph scale goes from 0 to 14 from maximum acidity to maximum basicity, and 7 being neutral) The acidity of most products where usually in the range of: ph 5.5 to 6.5. This acidity level was controlled using most of the time Citric Acid (from Citrus Fruits) In the Fifties large skin care manufacturers went on a craze of “dementia grandiose” and decided that: skin care has to be of a neutral ph of 7. A lot of advertising ensued, every body was buying neutral ph Skin Care and every manufacturer where making neutral ph product. One as to understand that: in the first part of the last century nothing much was happening for the Skin Care industry. According to Dr. Hegi from the skin society, “the best pH range for natural skin care is between 4 to 6” Dr. Hegi explains “to be well protected the skin should always be acidic” In early time the big money was in Make up. Those where the days of: false claims, erroneous statements, bad science, and unfounded testimonials, where constant occurrence. Also the killing of Sperm Whale became prohibited and a lot of different animal fats showed up in the market. This was a bounty for the fat of minks, emus, and other leathers, feathers and fur industry to market their animal fat from otherwise wasted carcasses of dead animals.
Now back to Glycolic acid. There are many forms of Glycolic acid: we have Alpha and Beta Glycolic acids. Alpha Glycolic acid is for the most part Fruits acid and produced primarily from sugar cane, pineapple, Citrus and other. A milder form of Glycolic acid is Lactic acid produced from milk. Now for the Beta Glycolic acid: Beta glycolic acid is Salicylic acid, it is an organic acid made from the amino acid Phenylalanine.
Salicylic acid is use as an active ingredient in many brands of anti Acne products. Its use in anti wrinkle cream is less widespread, probably for the difficulties encountered by the formulator when adding it in an emulsion. Our short history of Skin Care manufacturing bring us in the Nineties when a miracle happened: The industry rediscovered that acidic products are really better for your skin than products with ph of 7or higher. Now the craze for acidic products as started! The war of the acid percentages is on.
Who is the most acidic of them all? In the north they bring you a 10% AHA. Immediately the South responds and brings you 20% AHA. And so on to exhaustion. Is the morning after the war the sun is raising on the battlefield, the dust settled and the Generals of both side are counting their casualties, they now, realized that the war was unnecessary and a middle ground must be found for the balance of life as we know it!   
Studies of percentages of Glycolic acid usage in commercial, over the counter cream and lotion products found that: 5% to be a good average. The reason behind this is as follow: As you increase the acid content the ph goes down. Low ph burn your skin so to raise the ph to an acceptable level you have to ad Calcium hydroxide or any cosmetic ingredient with a high ph. This practice defeats the purpose of the high acid content skin care product. Studies conducted to test the efficacy of Alpha versus Beta glycolic acid are inconclusive at best. Both acids seem to be equally effective for skin care application, however the effect from Salicylic acid showed more sustained effectiveness and less adverse effect than AHA. Other studies found that the ph at which Glycolic acid is the most effective is below a ph of 4. But it may give you a burning sensation when you apply it on your skin. In medical offices up to 80% Glycolic acid have been used for peel. For the general use I will suggest around 5% in cream and lotion and 10% in do it yourself peels. But for peels be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions conscientiously! Too long of an exposure may give you temporary redness.  Is my opinion that Glycolic acid is a good and beneficial ingredient in natural anti aging skin care, and I would recommend it as a good treatment for Acne, wrinkle and aging skin! Different brands may have different concentrations, Try different products from different manufacturers. Good luck!

More great info: http://theskinsociety.com/Home/Natural-Skin-Treatments/ACNE-TREATMENT-SUITE.html

Michel A. Hegi PhD.