Alpha Hydroxy

The Skinny On Alpha Hydroxy Skincare


Long-term exposure to the sun is finally catching up to us, whether we’re gen X-ers who loved our tanning beds in the 90s or baby boomers who played beach blanket bingo while slathered with baby oil.  Flash-forward to today and now all of us former sun-worshippers are left with nothing but rough skin and unsightly wrinkles where our gorgeous sun-kissed tans used to be.

Then along came Alpha Hydroxy skincare products and along with them, what appeared to be the answers to all of our anti-aging prayers.  Now a billion-dollar industry, those products that tout AHAs as the magic ingredient certainly do help reduce our wrinkles, fade our sun spots and otherwise erase any other signs of aging skin.  These products are also great news for the millions of us in the natural skincare movement (who are usually left out of the anti-aging category thanks to the use of harsh chemicals and the like).  Because alpha hydroxy acids are actually pulled from fruit and milk sugars, many of the alpha hydroxy skincare products on the market today are also all-natural and even organic.

Alpha hydroxy is an expert exfoliating agent.  It’s great for stripping away damaged skin cells and exposing the healthy, undamaged cells lying underneath.  Many dermatologists use alpha hydroxy skincare treatments in their offices, including applying AHA directly on the skin in high concentrations.  This popular and expensive procedure is best known as a “chemical peel”.  When used in lower dosages in commercially available skincare products, the effects aren’t as quick to reveal themselves but can also be dramatic with prolonged use.  This, of course, explains the continued success of the commercial alpha hydroxy skincare niche.

Regardless of whether AHAs work or if they’re holistic in their purest form, when you roll them up into a skincare cream – after all of the processing and additives are, well, added – the question remains: are they safe?  Absolutely they are, especially if you follow the FDA’s recommendation and use products with only a 10% or lower concentration for prolonged use. Bottom line, alpha hydroxy is an acid, which means it has the potential to cause skin irritation – so choose according to how sensitive your particular skin happens to be. Studies have also revealed the alpha hydroxy can leave skin more susceptible to damage by ultraviolet light.  Therefore, AHA users should look for a product that either has a sunscreen in it or use a sunscreen product as a supplement.  One final argument for AHA’s safety worth considering: AHA has continued to enjoy FDA approval twenty years since its official launch as an anti-aging agent back in 1989.

Here is a full list of AHAs currently available in alpha hydroxy skincare products:

  • glycolic acid
  • lactic acid
  • glycolic acid + ammonium glycolate
  • alpha-hydroxyethanoic acid + ammonium alpha-hydroxyethanoate
  • alpha-hydroxyoctanoic acid
  • alpha-hydroxycaprylic acid
  • hydroxycaprylic acid
  • mixed fruit acid
  • triple fruit acid
  • tri-alpha hydroxy fruit acids
  • sugar cane extract
  • alpha hydroxy and botanical complex
  • L-alpha hydroxy acid
  • glycomer in crosslinked fatty acids alpha nutrium