Can mandelic acid remove acne scars?

Mandelic acid is a lipophilic fruit acid that has a high affinity for the skin. It can easily penetrate into the stratum corneum and enter the skin, thereby playing a role in beautifying and nourishing the skin, removing spots and acne. It has a good anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effect on oily skin and acne-prone skin. It is very effective in improving hair follicle blockage, and it also has a good therapeutic and preventive effect on pigmentation caused by the sun.

Can mandelic acid remove acne scars?

1. Improve skin

According to experimental results in medical literature, using mandelic acid as a skin resurfacing material can effectively solve the problem of acne, especially the accompanying inflammatory pustules, papules and other symptoms, which usually show significant improvement after using mandelic acid. At the same time, mandelic acid also has a good effect on skin problems such as sagging, wrinkles, and solar aging.

It is worth noting that mandelic acid has obvious therapeutic effects on some melanin problems, including uneven skin tone, dullness, dark spots, freckles, post-inflammatory pigmentation, etc., which is an effect that other fruit acids cannot achieve. Regarding the problem of melanin deposition in the dermis, even the use of whitening drugs such as A acid, weak steroids, and hydroquinone for treatment often encounters bottlenecks or fails, and even produces post-inflammatory pigmentation during drug treatment. This situation is particularly prone to occur in people with darker skin. Generally speaking, melanin deposits in the dermis respond slowly to treatment. Clinical studies have also found that some patients can even achieve complete removal of pigmentation after using mandelic acid products for up to six months, which shows its effectiveness in lightening melanin. As a side note, the above-mentioned patients who developed post-inflammatory pigmentation due to drug treatment did not have any problems with excessive pigmentation after using mandelic acid.

If we compare mandelic acid peels with glycolic acid peels, clinical findings show that patients who undergo mandelic acid peels are less likely to experience the irritation and redness that glycolic acid peels easily cause. In addition, most patients have a better tolerance to mandelic acid and are less likely to experience sensitivity issues.

2. Keratin metabolism

However, for problematic dry skin or scalp, or even ichthyosis or other abnormal symptoms of skin hyperkeratosis, a complex formula composed of mandelic acid and a variety of fruit acid ingredients can play a role in regulating keratin metabolism, improving desquamation, moisturizing, etc., achieving a rapid and safe improvement effect.

3. Improve nails

In addition, the reaction of mandelic acid with acetic acid produces 4-acetyl mandelic acid (O-Acetyl mandelic acid), which is an antagonist of fruit acid and has the opposite effect of fruit acid. It is mainly used to treat weak nails, making new nails harder, thicker, and less likely to break.