Oct 5

Oct 5 PRODUCT REVIEW: PIXI SKINTREATS GLOW TONIC – ONE OF THE BEST AHA EXFOLIATORS AND BEST GLYCOLIC ACID DEODORANT

AM Regimen, AM ROUTINE, Best cleansers, cleansing, Best exfoliators, Best toners, Exfoliators, Deodorant, Toners, Glycolic Acid

PIXI | SKINTREATS GLOW TONIC

This review was originally part of my blog article titled, Skincare Hacks: Glycolic Acid Is the Natural Deodorant that Works! (Psst…it’s the most popular Skincarma Blog article of all time!)

You can still catch the full piece here.

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I’ve had just a few glycolic deodorant “misses” among the considerable hits above that just don’t meet the efficacy of, say, the Paula’s Choice 10% AHA and The Inkey List’s Liquid Toner.

In my experiments, it’s become clear that a glycolic toner doesn’t work as a deodorant if it contains a high level of plant oils, as opposed to extracts — they seem to nourish the odor-causing bacteria or otherwise impede the necessary neutralization of the skin surface.

What is Glycolic Acid?

There is an insightful article from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, Glycolic Acid: What It Is and Why You Should Use It. In it, the experts expound on the many superb benefits of Glycolic Acid for the skin.

Glycolic Acid Benefits
Using an exfoliant with glycolic acid for your face results in a brighter, more even toned complexion. Like all AHAs, glycolic acid works by helping turn over spent cells on skin’s surface.
This type of exfoliation addresses numerous skin concerns, including sun damage, uneven tone, rough, flaky patches of skin, fine lines, and wrinkles. In higher concentrations, glycolic acid can even improve the look of deeper wrinkles.
Studies also show that glycolic acid significantly increases skin’s hydration. It does this by helping skin make substances like mucopolysaccharides, which help skin stay hydrated by increasing its natural content of hyaluronic acid, which in turn enhances skin’s resilience.
One exciting new note about glycolic acid: emerging research shows it might even protect skin against UV damage (in addition to reducing its damaging after-effects), though more studies need to be done and of course it doesn’t replace the need for sunscreen. Still, it’s a promising development!
Glycolic acid occurs naturally in sugar cane, but is most effective when synthesized in a lab, where its potency and concentration are optimized for use in skin care. Using plant sugars, like sugar maple, for their glycolic acid content is an option, but the bulk of the research on glycolic acid’s benefits for skin is about the synthetic form, because this type can be optimized for effectiveness, purity, stability, and pH, all critical to getting effective glycolic acid products.

Since the Glow Tonic formula’s pH is somewhere between 4-5 (most reviews I’ve read come in closer to 4), and AHAs like Glycolic Acid require a pH below 4 to exfoliate most effectively, Glow Tonic will exfoliate but doesn’t have the exfoliating power you’d expect from a 5% Glycolic Acid solution. That’s exactly what I found using it on my own skin. The results were kinda blah. That doesn’t mean that it’s not going to brighten your complexion some — it just may not live up to all the hype.

The more problematic issue with Glow Tonic pertains to the inclusion of ingredients that are known skin irritants, most notably, fragrance. Both options from The Inkey List and The Ordinary are fragrance free. Glycolic Acid can be highly sensitizing — which is why it’s so important for there to be soothing ingredients like botanical extracts and humectants like Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice and Glycerin that keep skin from drying out. The presence of fragrance in a Glycolic Acid treatment is a recipe for disaster. Personally, I found it irritated the skin on my face and in my underarms.

If you have sensitive skin, Glow Tonic isn’t for you. Online reviews of it bear this out — you find complaints of irritation all over the place. Honestly, after 12+ years on the market, it’s a bit of a dated formula.

SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Pixi Skintreats Glow Tonic for $29.00 here.

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