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Glycolic acid and retinol

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Glycolic acid and retinol: keep them apart

Keep them apart

Use them on alternate nights to avoid skin irritation from layering strong ingredients. Both ingredients speed up skin peeling, which can cause redness and stinging if you use them together. Try using a lower strength or giving your skin more time between applications.

Photocarcinogenesis study of glycolic acid and salicylic acid (CAS Nos. 79-14-1 and 69-72-7) in SKH-1 mice (simulated solar light and topical application study)Novel retinoid ester in combination with salicylic acid for the treatment of acne

Glycolic acid products

Retinol products

Questions and answers

Can you use glycolic acid and retinol together?

Keep glycolic acid and retinol apart because layering them may cause over-exfoliation and irritation. Instead, alternate your evenings or buffer with a moisturizer between uses.

Which goes first, glycolic acid or retinol?

Keep glycolic acid and retinol apart by not combining them in the same routine, as layering both may cause over-exfoliation and irritation. Instead, alternate evenings or use glycolic acid in the morning and retinol at night.

Are glycolic acid and retinol good for sensitive skin?

Glycolic acid and retinol are not recommended together for sensitive skin because layering them may cause over-exfoliation and irritation. Instead, alternate your evenings or use products on different nights.

Research on glycolic acid and retinol

Behind this pairing advice

Lovi checks every pairing with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sof铆a Perea P茅rez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sof铆a Perea P茅rez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

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