Alpha hydroxy acid for a younger looking skin

These are naturally appearing acids found in fruit and plants, which can also be manufactured synthetically.

Alpha hydroxy acid is used in the following of our products Rejuvenating Face Wash

On this page

• Positive effect of Alpha Hydroxy Acids in cosmetics
• Our natural AHA used in our products
• Possible problems with AHA
• AHA and dermatologists

Positive effect of Alpha Hydroxy Acids in cosmetics

AHA's can be used as water-binding agents in cosmetics, but are mostly used in modern cosmetics for their exfoliating properties and their therapeutic properties which help with and minimize photo damaged skin, which is a major contributing factor to ageing.

Many a clinical reference and much research has indicated the positive effect that the correct application of alpha hydroxy acids can have on the skin, and depending on how the cosmetic company includes it in their product, they can be a great boon to promoting younger looking skin and to minimizing the effect of ageing.

Apart from ridding the skin of unnecessary dead cells, they also have a moisturizing effect on the skin, by increasing the moisture content of the upper skin and so smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles, as well as reducing dryness and combating flakiness.

Long-term use of low concentration AHA's can also increase collagen and elastin synthesis, and also boost protein regeneration in the skin.

They are also very effective in dealing with hyper-keratinization (over thickening of the skin), as well as increasing the epidermal thickness and have dermal glycosaminoglycans content.

Our natural AHA used in our products

We do not make use of a single AHA, but use a cocktail of various botanical materials to create a very effective and synergistic compound.

For this we use

• Vaccinium Myrtillus (Bilberry) Extract
  • An extract of the fruit and leaves of the bilberry - Vaccinium myrtillus -classed as a biological product and used as a miscellaneous skin-conditioning agent; Also known as bilberry extract and whortleberry extract;
• Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar cane) Extract
  • It is an extract of the sugar cane, Saccharum Officinarum and classed as above;
• Acer Saccharum (Sugar maple) Extract
  • An extract of the sugar maple plant - Acer Saccharum and classed as a biological product, although the CTFA 2004 INCI dictionary did not classify a function for it yet;
• Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract
  • It is an extract of the fruit of the orange, Citrus aurantium dulcis and classified as a botanical product and miscellaneous skin-conditioning agent.
• Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract
  • It is an extract of the fruit of the lemon - Citrus Medica Limonum and is classified as a botanical product and miscellaneous skin-conditioning agent.

Possible problems with AHA

Should AHA's be included in too high a concentration in a cosmetic product, they may cause skin irritation and rashes.

For this reason, our researchers use these miracles of nature with great care and in concentrations that will only impart the positive effects they can have on your skin - without any side effects.

Should AHA be used in wrong concentration or the incorrect pH value, it can have a negative effect on the skin, and when investigating the reported side effects of AHA's it was found that both the incorrect concentration and the wrong pH values were used in the products that caused these side effects.

These side effects included erythema, inflammation (especially around the eyes), burning, blistering, bleeding, rash as well as skin discoloration.

None of these side effects will ever be experienced with our products, since we use AHA's in far lower concentrations - and the correct pH value is used and strictly controlled.

AHA and dermatologists

The popular use of AHA can be traced back to the chemical peels done by dermatologists that use acids such as phenol and trichloro-acetic acid, which remove epidermal cells to expose the new skin beneath. These chemical peels use extremely powerful chemicals to achieve the results, whereas the weaker AHA's do not have the same dramatic effects.