Beauty

[SilleeMee]

@HappyDaze,

I loved and used Alpha for many years. They discontinued making my fave glycolic treatment pads. I was heartbroken. The rest of their line is very good. I especially love their Silk Wrap Body lotion with 14% glycolic...no more bumpy skin..works wonders.

[SilleeMee]

@NativeJax,

I also use glycolix treatment pads 20% ...amazon has them for around $25. You get 60 pads in the jar and I use them eod so that jar lasts four months. That's not expensive when you look at it that way.

[NativeJax]

Thank you all!

[Still Raining]

In the midst of discussing a Rx for something that is known to thin skin as a side effect, my derm mused that this is the first time masses of ladies are exfoliating chemically regularly.  She said that physicians really don't know what the cumulative impact will be other than making skin more sun sensitive.  Made me think twice.

[HappyDaze]

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@Still Raining wrote:

In the midst of discussing a Rx for something that is known to thin skin as a side effect, my derm mused that this is the first time masses of ladies are exfoliating chemically regularly.  She said that physicians really don't know what the cumulative impact will be other than making skin more sun sensitive.  Made me think twice.

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I know Paula's choice chemical exfoliants have been around for around 20 years and I am sure there have been other companies before hers that had them so 20+ years gives scientists and doctors a long enough period of time to determine what impact long-term use of chemical exfoliants may or may not have and so far, most studies show they are very beneficial when used as directed and appropriately.

Of course there will be people that overdo it and, as with anything, when you overuse it or don't use it properly (or don't wear sunscreen to protect your skin!), there can be negative effects but that is more user error than an issue with the ingredient/product itself.

I also think the % of chemical exfoliants are getting a bit ridiculous and there is no real need to have ridiculously high % as the only thing it tends to do is cause irritation or make you more susceptible to irritation and sensitivity so lower % are enough to do the job.

[FUTURE]

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@HappyDaze wrote:

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@Still Raining wrote:

In the midst of discussing a Rx for something that is known to thin skin as a side effect, my derm mused that this is the first time masses of ladies are exfoliating chemically regularly.  She said that physicians really don't know what the cumulative impact will be other than making skin more sun sensitive.  Made me think twice.

---

I know Paula's choice chemical exfoliants have been around for around 20 years and I am sure there have been other companies before hers that had them so 20+ years gives scientists and doctors a long enough period of time to determine what impact long-term use of chemical exfoliants may or may not have and so far, most studies show they are very beneficial when used as directed and appropriately.

Of course there will be people that overdo it and, as with anything, when you overuse it or don't use it properly (or don't wear sunscreen to protect your skin!), there can be negative effects but that is more user error than an issue with the ingredient/product itself.

I also think the % of chemical exfoliants are getting a bit ridiculous and there is no real need to have ridiculously high % as the only thing it tends to do is cause irritation or make you more susceptible to irritation and sensitivity so lower % are enough to do the job.

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ITA, @HappyDaze. I know my mother was using Alpha Hydrox, because I can remember her buying it in the early 90s? So at least 20 years. The only time I can see the need for these 30-60% peels is if you have scarring, sun damage, etc, and want to get rid of it. It is much less expensive than lasers, too. But I can't understand doing the 40% once a month or something. IMO, if you keep up with it in your regular routine at a low %, you'll likely not have the need for it. If you don't, and do it every week for a month, one month per year, then I can see that, too. My skin just can't tolerate much, so I'll use my low % eod, thankyouverymuch.

[HappyDaze]

@FUTURE exactly! And as always, GMTA!

ETA: and good point about the higher % peels being good for real skin issues like scarring and major sun damage, etc. THey do serve a purpose -  I was referring to the at home ones done like you said, on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis.

[silkyk]

You might like the Burt's Bees Citrus facial Scrub (I SURE do!) I find the best price on ebay. I use this once a week and silky smooth skin. Nice smell too.