ASCP Skin Deep

JULY | AUGUST 2018

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42 july/august 2018 WHAT IT IS Outside of being touted as a safe, natural, fruit-sugar acid keratolytic, the actual commercial preparation is far more than that—although sugarcane and other fruit by-products are usually included, so are formaldehyde and carbon monoxide. This does not mean, however, that these toxic things end up in the final product that goes on your face—I am merely pointing out that glycolic acid, which is used in other industries such as fabric dyeing, goes through a process much removed from squeezing an orange, as marketing suggests. (A photo of an orange appears in many ads.) The end product is known as hydroxyacetic acid. HOW IT WORKS Members of the alpha hydroxy family like glycolic acid are all hygroscopic in nature—they work by not only temporarily lowering the pH of the skin and loosening a lot of the "glue" that holds dead cells to the epidermis, but also by swelling up the dried-out, excessive stratum croneum cells like tiny balloons that eventually overload, burst, and detach from the newer, baby cells underneath. Professionally done, using glyconic acid is highly successful; it removes old defense mechanisms from the skin (all the things we do not like when we look in the mirror are just skin defense mechanisms stubbornly hanging around). I prefer to use reliable lactic acid, with its larger molecule and very little glycolic acid, because it offers much more control for the esthetician or physician. Based on their hygroscopic nature of pulling available moisture to the epidermis, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) were misconstrued in the early years expertadvice INGREDIENTS I always found it an annoying little molecule that, when used incorrectly in a formula, would settle as "hot spots" in the concavities of the face. as moisturizers. In face, exact opposite was true. Men and women globally discovered that daily use of these "natural products" severely dehydrated their skin, overthinning the epidermis so they were sitting ducks for hyperpigmentation (especially darker-skinned people) and, in many cases, promoted strange, cyst- like lumps under acid-hardened skin. Glycolic acid does work well with other ingredients that are keratolytic in nature, including retinoids (which have the special ability to remove and rebuild tissue based on fibroblast stimulation). I think of glycolic acid as adding a little extra punch for a faster result, while not letting its tiny molecular size lead the way. One of the biggest mistakes estheticians used to make was blending glycolic acid with hydroquinone or other melanin inhibitors, with the belief that it would help these pigmentation ingredients penetrate deeper into the epidermis. Acid of any kind below pH 3.7 will harden the stratum corneum. Any pathologist will know this is why animal or human specimens are preserved in a formaldehyde acidic solution. On the other end of the spectrum, quick lime (which is alkaline, meaning it has a pH greater than 7) was used by old-time gangsters to dissolve and get rid of bodies by rapid desquamation! To reach the boundaries of a melasma or other hyperpigmentation, alkalizing the area with a product with a pH of at least 12 for a few moments, while keeping it moist to avoid alkaline burn, proves much more of a "door opener" than slamming it shut with an acid.

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