What Can Glycolic Acid Accomplish For Your Skin

The skin is the largest organ in our body and therefore needs total care. Most of us spend a lot of money in skin care. Skin care products dominate the shelves in supermarkets, drugstores or in our favorite beauty shops. The skin can either make you beautiful or make you totally undesirable. Skin care is not just about pampering but of health and hygiene as well.

However, maintaining or achieving flawless skin is only for the gods or goddesses. Even supermodels and celebrities freak out when pimples are sprouting in their too pampered skins. Breakouts, blackheads, enlarged pores is as normal as getting a low score in your Math exam. Part of one's journey in life is to experience many skin problems like acne and eczema. Furthermore, we are always reminded of that stage in life when the scars are left behind.

Skin care products come in a wide array, offering miracles from lifting, toning, exfoliation, peeling etc. But what should we look for in a product to fight skin problems? The answer is Glycolic Acid.
What is Glycolic Acid?
Glycolic Acid is an alpha hydroxyl acid or AHA. It a fruit acid naturally derived from plants like sugar cane. It is soluble, colorless, odorless and therefore a harmless acid. Glycolic acid has been proven effective in helping fight acne and other skin problems.
How does it help our skin?
Glycolic acid is now the new superhero among victims of skin problems. It fights many skin problems like acne, eczema, pimples, blackheads and many more. Glycolic acid also reduces oil in our skin and promotes exfoliation. It acts like a skin peeling acid that when absorbed in our skin reveals a new, fresher and healthier skin. Likewise, it is a gentle type of skin peel that does not leave you looking like a red shrimp. 
Is it really effective?
Though not as strong as other chemical peels around, its effectiveness is sworn by many people who have used and tried Glycolic Acid. Consistently using products with glycolic acid for a few months guarantees improved skin condition. Acne is lessened and scars will eventually fade in time. Glycolic acid is added in many skin care products like creams, astringents, lotions, masks, facial washes, etc. Check for Glycolic Acid content in your product. For more serious skin problems, glycolic acid is a good supplement with other stronger product formulation. It is incorporated with other skin treatments for more effective results in these serious skin problems.
In closing, Glycolic Acid is a breakthrough in fighting embarrassing acne and scars. It is a start to further skin treatments and for better skin that is youthful, healthy, and glowing.


Glycolic acid also destroys the bacteria that cause breakouts and acne. Since it promotes exfoliation, when absorbed in the skin it reveals a new skin layer. This new layer of skin helps in the peeling off of ugly scars and the redness characteristics left by acne.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Most of us have moments or short periods of sadness when we feel lonely or depressed. These sensations are usually normal ones that sometimes occur in life. They can be the result of a recent loss, having a particularly challenging day or week, or a reaction to a hurtful comment. However, when feelings of sadness and being unable to cope overwhelm the person, so much so that they undermine their ability to live a normal and active life, it is possible that they have what is known as a major depressive disorder (MDD), also called clinical depression, unipolar depression ormajor depression. Informally, the condition is simply referred to asdepression.

Depression can have a major negative impact on a sufferer's life - experts say the effect is comparable to that of diabetes, and some other chronic conditions.Depressive symptoms vary significantly between people. Most commonly, the person with depression feels hopeless, sad, and has lost interest in doing the things that were once pleasurable.What is the difference between a sign and a symptom? - A symptom is something felt by the patient, such as aheadache, while a sign is detected by other people too, such as a rash.Below are some signs and symptoms associated with depression:Psychological signs and symptoms:

Sir Winston Churchill suffered from bouts of severe depression - he used to call them "Black Dog"

• Persistent sadness or low mood

• Thoughts and feelings of worthlessness

• Feelings of self hatred

• A feeling of hopelessness

• A feeling of helplessness

• Feeling like crying

• A feeling of guilt

• Irritability - even trivial things become annoying

• Angry outbursts

• Intolerance towards others

• Persistent doubting - finding it very hard to decide on things

• Finding it impossible to enjoy life

• Thoughts of self harm

• Thoughts of suicide

• Persistent worry

• Persistent anxiety.

Physical signs and symptoms

• Body movements may be slower than they used to be

• Problems with focusing, the person's concentration span may be reduced

• Speech may be slower than it used to be

• Eating patterns change, appetite changes - typically, the patient eats less and loses weight. However, some people may eat more and gain weight.

• Low sex drive

• Lack of energy, fatigue, tiredness - even small and easy chores feel like unpleasant ordeals

• The woman's menstrual cycle may change

• Restlessness - the patient may pace up and down more, wring his/her hands, and find it hard to keep still

• Unexplained aches and pains, such as headache, backache or digestive problems

• Sleeping disturbances - the individual may find it hard to get to sleep, or wakes up during the night and cannot get back to sleep. Studies have shown that over 80% of people with depression suffer from some kind of insomnia. Hypesomnia (oversleeping) is also possible. Some medications used for treating depression may cause insomnia.

Social signs and symptoms may include:

• Underperforming at work

• Not doing well at school

• Avoiding keeping in touch with friends

• Abandoning interests and hobbies

• Having family/home problems.

In severe depression, the patient may experience symptoms of psychosis - delusions or hallucinations (less common).

Serotonin may not be a major factor in depression, study suggests

New evidence has put into doubt the long-standing belief that a deficiency in serotonin - a chemical messenger in the brain - plays a central role in depression. In the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience, scientists have reported that mice lacking the ability to make serotonin in their brains (and thus will have been "depressed" by conventional wisdom) did not show depression-like symptoms.

Donald Kuhn and colleagues at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center and Wayne State University School of Medicine noted that depression poses a major public health problem. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 350 million people suffer from it and it is said to be the leading cause of disability across the globe.

In the late 1980s, the now well-known antidepressant Prozac was introduced. The drug works mainly by increasing the amounts of one substance in the brain - serotonin. So scientists came to believe that boosting levels of the signaling molecule was the key to solving depression. Based on this idea, many other drugs to treat the condition entered the picture. But now researchers know that 60 to 70 percent of these patients continue to feel depressed, even while taking the drugs. Kuhn's team set out to study what role, if any, serotonin played in the condition.

To do this, they developed "knockout" mice that lacked the ability to produce serotonin in their brains. The scientists ran a battery of behavioral tests.

Interestingly, the mice were compulsive and extremely aggressive, but didn't show signs of depression-like symptoms. Another surprising finding is that when put under stress, the knockout mice behaved in the same way most of the normal mice did. In addition, a subset of the knockout mice responded therapeutically to antidepressant medications in a similar manner to the normal mice.

The researchers stated that these findings may be evidence that serotonin is not a major player in the condition, and that different factors must be involved. They concluded by suggesting that these results could dramatically alter how the search for new antidepressants moves forward in the future.