Diana

Hi everyone,
I joined this forum recently and this is my first post here. I?ve been reading many of the past topics. Lots of interesting stuff.

I have a question. I bought a tube of glycolic acid 12% and started applying it yesterday. I was a bit anxious but it?s barely burning my skin. It burns a little here and there but the entire face doesn?t sting and anyway the stinging sensation soon disappears. It stings when I apply it under my eyes but again, not for long. I apply it twice a day. According to the instructions, the stinging sensation should stop after a few days of use.

I googled for glycolic acid and found many sites. I read many of them, but most are sites promoting their particular brand. I found no info on how long I should use it. I keep reading over and over that it helps when used long term, but no one has specified exactly how long. I read somewhere you should try it for at least 3 months, but no one says when you should stop using it.

I?m thinking the fact that it does sting a bit is an indication it cannot be used forever. Can anyone advise me as to how long I can use it? if it really stimulates production of collagen, as is claimed, it sounds great. IS there any possibility I can use this cream on my face permanently instead of any moisturizer? Is there anyone here who has used any glycolic acid cream? What were the results? How long did you use it?

Thanks in advance for your help.

dtilford

Diana-

Glycolic Acid should not be use for a long period of time- It can thin your skin out (thin skin ages more quickly). You should defiantly NOT use it in place of your moisturizer ( you actually need a pretty good moisturizer to keep your skin from drying out after the use of glycolic acid).

Diana

thanks a lot, dtilford. How long is safe, then? I?ve read varying reports of the net, about how it can take anywhere from 8 weeks to nine months to see results. Nine months sounds a long time to me. now I?m afraid to use it that long. How long would you suggest is safe?

I didn?t even realize I need to use a moisturizer after using it. I assume you mean, I need to moisturize soon after I apply the glycolic acid? I read the acid makes other things easier to absorb, so maybe it will help if i appy moisturizer soon after the acid.

Since I read it would thicken the skin, I wasn?t worried. And I have an oily face and I noticed the acid is making it oilier. So I never realized it would have any eventual drying and thinning effect. Thanks for the warning!

danisinclair

Hi Glycolic thins only the stratum corneum which is the very top layer of skin that we need to exfoliate.
Glycolic will actually thicken the skin in the Dermis and is a fabulous hydrater.
You can use Glycolic every day, just make sure that you protect the skin from the sun with a good zinc based sunscreen.
The stinging you get when you use Glycolic is from the formulation, it needs to be in an acidic base to aid penetration in the skin. The skin will become used to this in around 2 weeks
Use a good glyciolic based product with the correct ph of 4.5-5.5 or it wont work
I use md formulations it is great

Freddy

Even though this thread is two years old. It is true, glycolic acid won't thin out the skin since it only removes the top layer of the skin.