Glycolic Is the Fastest Acid. That's Its Design Flaw.
The smallest AHA gets deepest and shows results soonest — which is precisely why routines built around it overshoot, and why the people who do best with it use it least.
Ingredients & Science
Exfoliating Acids
AHA, BHA, PHA — which acid for which skin.
Articles in Exfoliating Acids
Mandelic Acid: The Gentle AHA Built for Sensitive and Deeper Skin
Its molecule is roughly twice the size of glycolic's — and that single fact is why it's the exfoliating acid dermatologists reach for when irritation could cost you pigment.
Enzyme Exfoliants: Papain and Bromelain, the Gentlest Way to Exfoliate
Fruit enzymes digest dead surface proteins without the acid sting, which makes them the safe pick for skin that flinches at glycolic. Gentleness is the whole appeal, and also the hard ceiling on what they can do.
Salicylic Acid: How BHA Actually Gets Inside a Clogged Pore
The whole case for salicylic acid rests on one unglamorous fact of chemistry: it dissolves in oil. Understand that, and you know exactly when it beats a glycolic acid — and when it's overkill.
The Over-Exfoliation Epidemic: How Often Should You Really Exfoliate?
A generation started using acids daily because the bottle said 'daily,' then wondered why their skin turned raw, shiny, and spotty. The right cadence is almost always lower than the label suggests.
Glycolic vs Lactic Acid: Which AHA Is Actually Right for You
Glycolic gets the hype and the higher numbers. But lactic acid does something glycolic can't — and for a lot of skin, that changes the whole calculation.
PHA and Gluconolactone: The Acid for Skin That Can't Tolerate Acids
Polyhydroxy acids get filed under 'beginner exfoliant,' as if gentle meant weak. The truth is stranger: their bulk is exactly why they work for the skin everything else sets on fire.