Esthilove asks…I was just wondering, if glycolic acid is neutralized by water why do so many products with glycolic acid in them have water as the first ingredient? Doesn’t that negate the effects of the glycolic acid?
The Beauty Brains respond
I’m not sure where you got your info but glycolic acid is ALWAYS used as a dilution in water. The pure acid needs to be in water so the ions disassociate (so it can work.) Plus, the higher the concentration of acid the more damaging it is to your skin. So you certainly need water in ANY GA product.
And just for the record, acids (which have a low pH) are not neutralized by water. They’re neutralized by bases (which have a high pH.)