Is Alpha Hydroxy Acid A Good Ingredient For Cellulite Creams?
If you happen to use cellulite creams to get rid of your unsightly dimpling, it should be mandatory on your part to know the nittygritty associated with such creams – in particular, about the usefulness of the primary ingredients used to make your chosen cream.
What Is Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA)?
An alpha hydroxy acid is composed of a group of acids such as glycolic, lactic, tartaric, malic, and citric acids. These acids are mostly derived from sugar intrinsically present in fruit as well as milk.
Many of the acids forming part of AHA, such as lactic and glycolic acids have been extensively used for management of skin problems since the older days. Due to the skin-rejuvenation qualities inherent in them, AHAs are now increasingly used for preparation of large varieties of cosmetic and Cellulite Creams .
Earlier Usage
Prior to using alpha hydroxyl acids for making cosmetic/cellulite creams, these acids were extensively used by dermatologist and cosmetic surgeons in a much more potent form. The AHAs have been effectively used as chemical peels on the skin surface, aimed basically at peeling off the top layer and exposing the next layer of raw skin just beneath the top layer.
The AHA peels were always intended to deal with skin-related problems such as wrinkles, age spots, extreme sun burn damages and other skin flaws. Even though the chemical peels were not very effective on tough blemishes or dimpling, they certainly brought a new texture and glow to the skin.
AHA and Cellulite
As far as the usefulness of AHA to treat cellulite, not many study reports are available endorsing its use in the formulation of Cellulite Creams . It is, however, known that if used in lower concentrations, AHA can function as an exfoliator that can speed up the sloughing of the external layer of dead cells thereby thinning the top most layer of the skin. On the other hand, a higher concentration of the acids can reduce fine wrinkles rather efficiently.
Risks and Side Effects
Not many risks are involved in using a lower concentration of alpha hydroxyl acids. It is therefore common to see that most cellulite creams, gels or lotions use AHA with a very lower concentration.
It has also been observed that when AHA is left on the skin for a prolonged period, there is always a likelihood of deep burn In order to ensure adequate safety chemical peeling is invariably carried out in a dermatologist’s clinic.
Other precautions required to be taken while using cellulite cream with AHA include the following:
- Do not use the cream more often that what is the recommended frequency.
- Avoid the sun as much as possible as the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause avoidable damage to your skin. Remember to use a sunscreen when you have applied cellulite cream with AHA in it.
- Do not apply the AHA cream on your eyes.
Always ensure that you start with a cellulite cream with lower concentration so that you avoid undue skin irritation. You must read the instructions written on the pack before opening and also make sure that you implement them as well.
