Virtually every fruit and vegetable produces various acidic substances called "carboxylic acids." Carboxylic acids." Carboxylic acids are probably the largest group of organic substances. Most of them have both common and chemical names. Some, such as citric acid and acetic acid that have both a carboxyl group and a hydroxyl group in the same molecule.

Glycolic acid is an alpha hydroxyl acid that happens to occur in sugar cane. All commercial carboxylic acids, however, are currently manufactured by synthetic methods.

Through the centuries, some carboxylic acids (glycolic acid included) have been thought to have certain beautifying effects on the skin. It may be that they are antioxidants, but to this day, no one knows the definitive answer.

The challenge with glycolic acid is that it always has been too irritating in its raw form. (Even in a diluted form, it is irritating). Added to that, it is unpredictable, and tends to crystallize very rapidly.

In the 1970's, Dr. Van Scott and Yu patented a way of partially neutralizing glycolic acid with strong bases such as Ammonium Hydroxide or Sodium Hydroxide. There was one obstacle. When acid is neutralized with a base, the result is a salt and water. The effectiveness of the remaining acid is drastically reduced. In fact, in the patent, Drs. Van Scott and Y actually state that a fully neutralized glycolic is worthless for anything other than moisturization. This led to the use of "esters." Alpha hydroxyl acids, including glycolic acid, are actually defined by their ability to form esters. The esterification reaction is defined by its reversibility.

An ester is a substance that occurs as a result of the interaction between a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. They are often very fragile and can be found in nature. Esters produce the pleasant aroma of various fruits and flowers. Throughout history, some products used as beautifying agents were, in fact, esters of carboxylic acids. One of these, an ester of tartaric acid (which occurs in wine fermentation), was thought to have been used by Cleopatra.

Gly Derm® Glyco Citrates are these delicate esters. In millions of uses, we have shown that they retain the magical beautifying effect of glycolic acid while reducing the negative effects and irritation.

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