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Research of Eugene J. Van Scott M.D. and R. J. Yu Ph.D. opened the modern era of AHA use. In 1976 they found that glycolic acid, in specially made products, helped in the treating of a scaling skin illness (ichtyosis) and in 1988 they founded NeoStrata, a company where they keep developing novel ways for the treatment of skin ailments.

Further researches by these researchers shown a use for alpha hydroxy acids in skin renewal - however, their work was ignored by the skin care producers until the 1990s when alpha and beta hydroxy acids started to be incorporated into skin care products (Van Scott and Yu 1989). Later, Stiller et al conducted large-scale, placebo-controlled researches with AHAs and found they helped skin healing and treated premature aging caused by sun exposure (Stiller et al 1996). Their use was later expanded to chemical peels (Dial 1990).

Helps Skin Rejuvenation

Using Alpha hydroxy acids (AHA's) is one of the safest procedures of skin renewal. Their efficiency depends on the type and concentration of the AHA, its pH (acidity), and other ingredients in the product. AHAs become effective at proportions of about 7% to 8% with an acidity of 3.5 to 4.0. Many AHA-containing cosmetic solutions influence skin renewal very little because the AHA proportions are too low and the pH is too high. There is small evidence that proportions below 5% have positive effects on skin and more specifically on scars.

Skin improvements should be evident after four weeks of AHA treatment, but AHA therapy also helps maintain a healthy skin and this state is usually continued indefinitely.

Natural Skin Care Opposed Chemical Treatments

Chemical peels with stronger AHA's (40-70%) accelerate the process, but the skin rebuilding produced by a 70% AHA chemical peel, which is costly and may cause scarring, in 3 months can be duplicated by a 7% AHA product in 9 months.

Natural Skin Regeneration With Biological Ingredients

AHAs are marketed for a variety of purposes. They can be used to smooth fine lines and surface wrinkles, to improve skin texture and tone, oily skin or acne, or to unblock and cleanse pores. Basically, AHAs improve the skin condition in general. What they actually do is speed up the turnover of skin cells and help the regeneration of collagen and elastin plus improve the internal moisture-holding abilities of GAGs and proteoglycans. With long term use, AHAs alleviate fine to moderate wrinkles, and eliminate many skin lesions like sun damage, blotchy pigmentation, benign overgrowths of skin, age spots, mild acne scars, freckling, weathered skin, and flat warts. They seem to work by accelerating the skin peeling of the lesion plus an irritation around the lesion. In time the lesion becomes smaller and is replaced by new healthy skin.

Alpha hydroxy acids are useful in alleviating oily and acne-prone skin. People with these conditions usually see dramatic results. Blackheads, white heads and acne breakouts appear when the hair follicles clog and trap sebum in the follicle. Removing the upper layer of skin improves natural sebum flow to the skin.