Glycolic acid is one of the chemicals commonly used in chemical peels. It is fairly middle of the road to be quite frank, and quite a few people use it. It’s alpha hydroxy acids, and they claim that it will help with acne treatment, exfoliation, fighting wrinkles, and killing bacteria in chemical peels. Over the counter glycolic acid can be found in concentrations of 6-10%, and frankly it can be found in creams or lotions generally speaking, which are meant to combat the side effects in some ways.

They basically work by breaking down substances that bond with dead skin cells and keep them on the surface of the skin clogging pores and causing dull and wrinkled skin. Then these can be easily rinsed away. It gives your skin a healthy glow with softer and smoother elements. It has been shown to diminish fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots in general.

But then again, it has also been shown to cause redness, irritation, peeling, and it also causes photosensitivity and sensitivity to the sun in general, therefore causing greater damage to the sun should you not be extra careful in general terms. Glycolic acid doesn’t always work, and sometimes it causes greater problems than results. So these are just things to keep in mind looking for the whole picture.