Little Magazine 11
Hi I’m FeHyLaGlySaMa. Aka Ferulic, Hyaluronic, Lactic, Glycolic, Salicylic, Malic Acid. Nice to meet you. Let’s be friends.
Let’s define these puppies, shall we?
So many ingredients, so little time.
To say that it’s overwhelming to consider all of the skincare products on the market is a gross understatement. I picked out a few key ingredients that get thrown around a lot. And understandably, most of the people I talk to don’t really know the function or role of the ingredients and haphazardly use whatever their friend/ instagram/ Alexa told them to get. It’s A LOT. 😳 So, let’s simplify it without it making it a thing. 💁🏻♀️ This week let’s cover the ubiquitous “Acid” ingredients: Ferulic, Hyaluronic, Lactic, Glycolic, Salicylic, Malic.
Let’s start with
Hyaluronic Acid. First of all, what a misnomer. People make the assumption that it’s an exfoliant of some sort. Let’s over-simplify: it’s a moisturizing agent. Yurp. Hyaluronic Acid is a sugar found naturally in our skin that holds water and helps keep it hydrated and plump. Like everything else good in life 😬 (jk), it decreases as we age. It also holds a thousand times its weight in water💧in our bodies, and helps to retain and prevent evaporation. This means it’s what we in skincare land call a “Humectant.” It draws in and holds onto water.
Cliffs Notes- Try to get it in serum form so that it’s penetrating the skin and not just sitting on top of it (molecule size needs to be micronized, aka small enough).
Ferulic Acid (aka hydroxycinnamic acid). Another misnomer. This little guy is an antioxidant. Bottom-line: protects and prevents free-radical damage (this includes things like premature aging, inflammation, and hyperpigmentation). Is best friends 👭 with Vitamin C, E, resveratrol and other antioxidants. Frenemies 🚫 (don’t use) with: Exfoliating acids like glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acids because they can alter the pH, which compromises its efficacy.
And sometimes,
Acid means acid in the way that we think it means. Lactic Acid ($6.80), as one would think (unlike Hyaluronic and Ferulic ova there), is designed to break down dead skin. Specifically, it treats hyperpigmentation, age spots, and other situations that contribute to a dull and uneven complexion. It basically dissolves dead skin cells in a super friendly, non-irritating way. Even my super sensitive skin can handle a daily dose and not get irritated..Other benefits include improved skin tone and reduced pore size. However, unlike AHAs like glycolic acid and salicylic acid, which can weaken the skin barrier, lactic acid is milder.
…Unlike Glycolic Acid ($52). Glycolic and Lactic acid belong in the AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) family, that’s why they’re cousins. But Glycolic acid is the more intense cousin. It also has anti-aging properties but it also helps to reduce acne and tighten pores because it has a nice small molecule size, so it penetrates readily. This stuff stings, FYI. I wouldn’t use this every day on my sensitive skin, for example. Maybe 2-3 times a week. I find myself reaching for my glycolic pads in the summers when I’m a grease ball. In the winter, not so much.
We’ve heard of Salicylic Acid in the pimple ads. It’s neighbors with the AHA—it’s a BHA, a beta hydroxy acid. AHA’s are water soluble, BHA’s are oil soluble. BHA’s penetrate through the lipid layers between the skin cells more readily. They penetrate the skin to a deeper level than its acquaintance, AHA. So buh-bye, pimple. It breaks up and dissolves the gunk. Tippy-tip: It works best on whiteheads and blackheads.
Malic Acid: it’s an AHA (you know what that means now! 🥳 woohoo!) and does a plethora of cool stuff, including: hydrating, exfoliating, improving skin smoothness and tone, smoothing wrinkles… and is a humectant, to boot! In conjunction with its exfoliating friends it packs a punch in this Green Apple Peel Full Strength Exfoliating Mask ($48).
“Tippy Tip: Make sure you use a good, gentle cream to reinforce your skin’s protective barrier after you exfoliate! And you guessed it... SPF ALL DAY ERR DAY. Even if you’re sitting at home. Yurp. (UV Rays don’t discriminate. They penetrate glass. And... yer phone. TV. Computer. You get the idea.)”
I’ll leave y’all with an inspiring poem. See you next week! -Renee :)
How to Triumph Like a Girl
by Ada Limón
I like the lady horses best,
how they make it all look easy,
like running 40 miles per hour
is as fun as taking a nap, or grass.
I like their lady horse swagger,
after winning. Ears up, girls, ears up!
But mainly, let’s be honest, I like
that they’re ladies. As if this big
dangerous animal is also a part of me,
that somewhere inside the delicate
skin of my body, there pumps
an 8-pound female horse heart,
giant with power, heavy with blood.
Don’t you want to believe it?
Don’t you want to lift my shirt and see
the huge beating genius machine
that thinks, no, it knows,
it’s going to come in first.