Glycolic acid is a well-known active ingredient in skin care products. The ahydroxy acid exfoliates skin by reacting with the upper layer of the epidermis, the strateum corneum, and weakening the lipid bonds that hold the outer dead skin cells together.
Subsequently, this allows the outer layers to be removed exposing healthier, living skin cells. This mechanism of action for glycolic acid in skin care has been extensively studied and documented.
In recent years, however, glycolic acid has also begun to attract attention for its potential use in hair care products. Qualitative testing has shown that a number of physical aspects of human hair are improved through treatment with glycolic acid formulations. Specifically, testing has shown that when compared with untreated human hair, hair samples treated with glycolic acid demonstrated:
While such results signal an exciting new option in the world of hair care, exploration of such new possibilities is hampered by the fact that the mechanism by which glycolic acid improves hair health is not well-understood. Though many tests have reported on the results of glycolic acid testing on hair, few have explained the chemical and biological mechanisms which underlie the broad abilities of glycolic acid.
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