Spotlight on Glycolic Acid:

What does Glycolic acid do?

Glycolic acid is the most common of all the alpha hydroxy acids. Glycolic acid peels advance desquamation and thinning of the stratum corneum (the uppermost layer of the skin). By exfoliating the top layer of the skin, glycolic acid peels smooth the skin, quicken the rate of cell turnover (which is reduced by up to 7% every ten years), decrease small wrinkles and increase the fibroblast proliferation of collagen.
Glycolic acid is the smallest of the alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and is a common ingredient in skincare ingredients. Glycolic acid acts as both a moisturizer and an exfoliator; it increases the skin’s supply of hyaluronic acid, which can hold 1000 times its weight in water, thus making glycolic acid a humectant. It also exfoliates by increasing the separation of skin cells, a process called corneocyte desquamation, resulting in even more cell turnover! And you know what that means: smoother, more elastic skin.