Glycolic Acid Question
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Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:03 am

Hi Everyone:
My name is Madonna (no not the pop star) My two Dads just really loved her so thats what they named me Smile

I am 25 years old and i Model for a living. I have a question about Glycolic Acid. My esthetician recommended to me that i use glycolic acid to keep regenerating new skin cells, tissues, collagen, and to turn over dead skin into new skin, etc....
I started out using a product called glytone. My esthetician told me, "you have to feel the tingle on your face to know its working" Well glytone comes in 3 strengths. So i am now up to the 20% strength and when i apply it, there is no longer a tingling sensation. I was wondering, Do i need to go up in strength say to 25%? Should i be increasing strength so that i am feeling that tingle and so that i know it is working? Or is 20% enough,and is it still doing the job even though i dont feel the tingling?
Thanks for your input in advance
Love,
Madonna

free skin care · Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:15 pm

I am not familiar with this brand. But are you using 20% glycolic on your face everyday? That is a really strong % of glycolic. I hope you are wearing a good sunscreen daily.

Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:43 pm

Hi... yes i use 20% daily but it doesnt have the tingling effect my esthetician told me i should be experiencing... Can anyone answer my initial questions?

Thanks

free skin care · Sun Sep 18, 2011 5:39 pm

MyNameIsReallyMadonna wrote:

Hi Everyone:
My name is Madonna (no not the pop star) My two Dads just really loved her so thats what they named me Smile

I am 25 years old and i Model for a living. I have a question about Glycolic Acid. My esthetician recommended to me that i use glycolic acid to keep regenerating new skin cells, tissues, collagen, and to turn over dead skin into new skin, etc....
I started out using a product called glytone. My esthetician told me, "you have to feel the tingle on your face to know its working" Well glytone comes in 3 strengths. So i am now up to the 20% strength and when i apply it, there is no longer a tingling sensation. I was wondering, Do i need to go up in strength say to 25%? Should i be increasing strength so that i am feeling that tingle and so that i know it is working? Or is 20% enough,and is it still doing the job even though i dont feel the tingling?
Thanks for your input in advance
Love,
Madonna

You have two dads?! That's wonderful!
Anyways, to answer your question, you don't need to feel any tingling for it to work. As long as you see results, it is working fine. I agree with GirlieGirl that daily application of 20% AHA is way too much. Most people only use a daily application of 10% as an exfoliant, and use the 20% as a chemical peel (which is much stronger when compared to exfoliants). However, if you feel that this routine is giving you good results, then stick with it. Don't fix what isn't broken.

free skin care · Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:28 pm

I love glycolic acid! It has always worked for me as my skin has always been slow to turnover on its own - my skin specialist says I have weird skin that always has more layers of dead skin on it than she normally sees - so although she normally steers people away from glycolic, she does stock some products for people with skin like me - but she sells Jan Marini and I haven't bought that. In the past I used MD Formulations and that worked really well for me. Now I'm using Vivite (20% glycolic) Night Cream every 2nd or 3rd night because I agree that 20% glycolic is high! And at 25yo it may cause you too much thinning of your epidermis.

You dont need to feel the tingle for it to be working - that's nonsense so disregard that. Trust me, it's working! Wink

It's just super imperative that you use a very good sunscreen while you are using glycolic acid - all the time really but especially using glycolic! Very Happy

good luck! x

free skin care · Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:12 am

Wow, Glamcat, I'm probably the same as far as lack of proper skin turnover. Plus I have that "stubborn" congestion which caused acneic problems for so many years. I think things have sorted themselves out now though.

And Madonna, I'd take thesse warnings about daily use of this high percentage seriously - or at least make very sure to never set foot under direct sunlight, or even bright overcast days. I'm not sure I would trust any sunscreen to adequately protect skin left so vulnerable.
That's just my uneducated opinion though.

free skin care · Mon Sep 19, 2011 6:06 pm

Hi LoriA - yes, it's not uncommon to have this skin that turns over slower - and yes it is typical of acne-prone skin too! Wink

So some of us actually do benefit from more frequent exfoliation.

After getting onto Osmosis Skincare and listening to everything Ben Johnson had to say about chemical/manual exfoliation I actually stopped exfoliating for ages and my skin become a big mess! (even though I was using Replenish and Correct which contain retinaldehyde) It was so bad that every time I saw my skin specialist she did microdermabrasion on me! and she said she was getting 15-20 layers of dead skin off my face! (She said the normal amount of dead skin is 5-10 layers!). She said I really had to start exfoliating twice a week again! So I did and I haven't had that problem - which is good because no more microderm! I hate that stuff - it really dries my skin out! Confused

lesson learnt! Laughing

I just use a very gentle exfoliation brush (from the Body Shop - it's the most gentle one I've found) twice a week with either my regular cleanser - Cosmedix Benefit Gentle Cleanse - and if I need a bit more exfoliation I'l use the MD Formulations glygolic cleanser for sensitive skin.

LoriA wrote:

Wow, Glamcat, I'm probably the same as far as lack of proper skin turnover. Plus I have that "stubborn" congestion which caused acneic problems for so many years. I think things have sorted themselves out now though.

And Madonna, I'd take thesse warnings about daily use of this high percentage seriously - or at least make very sure to never set foot under direct sunlight, or even bright overcast days. I'm not sure I would trust any sunscreen to adequately protect skin left so vulnerable.
That's just my uneducated opinion though.

Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:21 pm

Thanks for all your replies everyone! Be well!

free skin care · Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:13 pm

I'm sure someone will yell at me for saying this because everybody ages at a different rate, but that seems WAY too strong for a 25 year old. Your skin cell turnover is at its optimum performance, no need to force things. IMHO you would be more than fine with a mild exfoliant, not the big guns like a 20% acid. I'm in my thirties and I don't need anything near that extreme for that glow and cell turnover. You'll just end up damaging your skin barrier (like I did when I was 25 with the same method) and spend the next few years trying to build it back up again. Aggressive isn't necessarily better. And wear lots of sunscreen, that much acid makes you extremely vulnerable.

I'm Italian, lots of older women are named Madonna in my culture, its great to see the name used again!!!

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