Glycolic Acid CleanserGlycolic Acid Statistics: Concentration, pH and Product Data
This page is a compiled, sourced reference for glycolic acid numbers: what concentrations real products actually contain, what regulators allow, and the chemistry constants behind the percentages. The product data is a census of the 30 tracked glycolic acid products we list as of 13 October 2026 (products we have since withdrawn from the catalogue are not counted), spanning 17 brands — every ingredient list checked by hand. Every catalog-derived figure below is computed directly from that dataset and machine-verified before publication, not estimated. Writers and researchers are welcome to cite any figure here; a ready-to-copy citation is at the bottom of the page.
Key Numbers at a Glance
- 3.4% to 50% — the concentration spread across the consumer glycolic acid products we list: the same ingredient is sold at a nearly 15-fold strength difference depending on format. (GAC database, n=30 disclosed, 13 October 2026)
- 100% of the glycolic acid products we list disclose their concentration (30 of 30, 13 October 2026; our selection rules favour products that do, so this describes our list, not the market) — but of the 26 brands whose own product page we could audit, only 8 (31%) disclose a numeric pH, which determines how much of that concentration actually works. (GAC brand-page audit, 5 September 2026)
- 10% — the median labeled concentration across all formats; by format, medians run from 4.9% (cleansers) to 30% (at-home peels). (GAC database, 13 October 2026)
- 10% at pH 3.5+ — the CIR Expert Panel's safety ceiling for consumer products, with sun protection. The EU's scientific committee of the time (SCCNFP) went lower in a 2000 position paper: on the precautionary principle, and until more data were available, it suggested glycolic acid up to 4% at pH 3.8 or higher in cosmetic products (SCCNFP/0370/00).
- 76.05 g/mol, CAS 79-14-1, pKa 3.83 — glycolic acid's chemical identity; it is the smallest alpha hydroxy acid (lactic acid: 90.08 g/mol).
- ~1.8% vs ~6.1% — the free acid actually delivered by a 10% product at pH 4.5 versus a 7% product at pH 3.0. The lower-percentage product is over three times stronger. (Henderson–Hasselbalch, pKa 3.83 — try the calculator)
- 5% ≈ 20% — in a randomized controlled trial on mild-to-moderate acne, a well-formulated 5% glycolic acid complex performed comparably to a 20% formula.
- ~40% of adults have keratosis pilaris, one of the most common conditions glycolic acid is used for.
- ~28 days — the skin's natural surface-renewal cycle, which is why visible glycolic acid results take 3–8 weeks, not days.
- 17 brands are represented across the 30 listings — a fragmented category with no entrenched market leader.
Concentration by Product Format: The Ladder
The single most useful pattern in the data: format determines concentration. Choosing a cleanser versus a peel pad is effectively choosing a roughly 4× difference in median strength. Compiled from the 30 products we list (13 October 2026), all of which disclose concentration:
| Format | Products (n) | Disclosed range | Median | Contact type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleansers | 6 | 3.4% – 10% | 4.9% | Rinse-off |
| Body washes | 2 | 5% – 15% | 10% | Rinse-off |
| Toners | 6 | 3.5% – 10% | 7% | Leave-on |
| Serums | 3 | 5% – 15% | 10% | Leave-on |
| Creams & lotions | 5 | 10% – 20% | 17.5% | Leave-on |
| Peel pads | 3 | 5% – 35% | 20% | Timed leave-on |
| At-home peels | 5 | 10% – 50% | 30% | Timed, rinse-off |
Source: GAC product database, the 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026 (n=30 disclosed). Blends counted at their stated glycolic/AHA figure.
- Cleansers3.4% to 10% · median 4.9% · 6 products
- Body washes5% to 15% · median 10% · 2 products
- Toners3.5% to 10% · median 7% · 6 products
- Serums5% to 15% · median 10% · 3 products
- Creams & lotions10% to 20% · median 17.5% · 5 products
- Peel pads5% to 35% · median 20% · 3 products
- At-home peels10% to 50% · median 30% · 5 products
src/_data/products.json at build time — n=30 disclosed of the 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026. Source: GAC product database.Two patterns worth noting. First, rinse-off formats run gentle (cleanser median 4.9%) because contact time is seconds — which is also why they're the safest entry point. Second, the counterintuitive one: creams run stronger than serums (median 17.5% vs 10%) — driven by body creams formulated for keratosis pilaris and rough skin, where thicker skin tolerates more acid. For what each tier actually does to your skin, see the percentage guide.
Cleansers
All six cleanser listings disclose a figure (3.4% – 10%), and the format median — 4.9%, the lowest of any format in the list — reflects how briefly a rinse-off product sits on skin. The gentlest is Glytone Mild Cream Cleanser (3.4%); Glytone publishes a free acid value rather than a label percentage, and we count it as stated. The strongest is TOUCH 10% Glycolic Acid Face Wash (10%), at the CIR's suggested ceiling for consumer products. Contact time, not formulation restraint, is why cleansers can run this wide a spread without the irritation risk a leave-on would carry at the same percentage.
Body washes
We list two body washes, at 5% and 15% — reaching well above the cleanser range, because body skin is thicker than facial skin (see the by-body-area breakdown below). The milder is Naturium The Smoother Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Wash (5%), a figure that covers four acids combined; the stronger is TOUCH Keratosis Pilaris Exfoliating Body Wash Cleanser (15%), formulated specifically for KP on arms and legs rather than general daily cleansing. With two products, the 10% median is simply their midpoint and says little on its own.
Toners
Six toners disclose a concentration, from 3.5% – 10%, median 7% — the format most people mean when they say "glycolic toner." Good Molecules Glycolic Exfoliating Toner (3.5%) sits at the gentle end; The INKEY List 10% Glycolic Acid Toner (10%) at the strong end. The Ordinary's and TOUCH's 7% toners land exactly on the format median.
Serums
All three serums disclose a concentration, ranging 5% – 15% with a median of 10% — a full leave-on step up from toners. CeraVe Skin Renewing Nightly Exfoliating Treatment 5% AHA (5%) anchors the gentle end as a glycolic-lactic blend; QRxLabs 15% Glycolic Acid Renewal Serum (15%) anchors the strong end.
Creams & lotions
The five cream and lotion listings range 10% – 20% with a median of 17.5%, higher than serums despite creams generally reading as the "gentler" format on a shelf. Replenix Glycolic Acid 10% Resurfacing Cream (10%) sits at the format floor, tied with Naturium's 10% body lotion; Replenix Glycolic Acid 20% Resurfacing Cream (20%) tops the range, tied with DCL's 20% AHA Resurfacing Lotion. The skew is driven by body-focused creams and lotions formulated for rough skin and keratosis pilaris, where thicker skin tolerates more acid than the face.
Peel pads
All three peel pads disclose a concentration, from 5% – 35%, median 20% — the first format where "peel" language becomes literal rather than marketing. Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Night Pads Extreme (5%) is a multi-acid blend at the gentle end; NUVADERMIS 35% Glycolic Acid Peel Pads (35%) is the single strongest disclosed pad concentration in the database, above the professional in-clinic peel floor.
At-home peels
At-home peels reach the highest concentrations of any format, 10% – 50%, with a median of 30% — a five-fold spread inside a single product category. The gentlest is Perfect Image Glycolic Acid 10% Gel Peel (10%); the strongest is Perfect Image Glycolic Acid 50% Gel Peel (50%) — a concentration the product's own name states outright, since at that strength the number itself is the selling point. Anything above 20% in this format crosses into chemical-burn-risk territory without professional-style timing and neutralization (see Regulatory & Clinical Numbers below).
Brands, Blends, and Availability
The 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026 span 17 brands — no single manufacturer dominates the catalog. The most-listed brand is TOUCH, with 4 of the 30 listings (a cleanser, a toner, pads and a body wash); three brands follow with three each: Glytone, Naturium, Perfect Image. Beyond that, 9 of the 17 brands appear exactly once — a long tail that reads as a fragmented commodity market rather than a category with an entrenched leader. That fragmentation is itself a useful signal for shoppers: no single brand has earned category-wide default status the way, say, a leading toner brand might in a more consolidated space.
Formulation is mostly single-ingredient: of the 30 products, 25 of 30 use glycolic acid as the sole active exfoliant, while 5 of 30 are multi-acid blends — most commonly paired with salicylic or lactic acid. The gentlest serum and the gentlest peel pad are both blends; the other three blends sit mid-range, so on this list a second acid is not reliably a sign of a gentler formula.
Concentration by Body Area
No source we read sets a glycolic acid concentration by body area, so these are our working ranges, taken from our body & underarm guide, not sourced standards. The face row is the consumer range the CIR conclusion covers:
| Area | Our working range | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Face (daily use) | 2–10% | Standard consumer range; CIR ceiling is 10% at pH 3.5+ |
| Underarms | 5–7% | Skin fold (intertriginous); start low |
| Bikini line | 5–7% | Outer skin only; start low |
| Arms & legs (KP) | 7–10% | Our working range for KP; no source sets one |
| Elbows & knees | Up to 10% | Our working range; follow with a heavier moisturizer |
| Feet & heels | Up to 10% | Our working range; some products go to 15%, the ceiling Healthline attributes to Cleveland Clinic |
| Scalp | No established standard | Dedicated glycolic scalp products are rare; most scalp exfoliants use salicylic acid instead. Users who repurpose a glycolic toner typically stay at 5–7%, used cautiously |
Cross-reference this against the product-format ladder above and a pattern emerges: the database's body wash range (5% – 15%) already spans the whole underarm-to-heel working range (5% to 10%) and goes past it, which is why a single body wash product rarely suits the whole body — the bottle's labeled percentage may be right for elbows and wrong for underarms in the same use. Cleansers (3.4% – 10%) and toners (3.5% – 10%) map cleanly onto the face row; creams (10% – 20%) and peel pads (5% – 35%) (all but the gentlest) overshoot the underarm and bikini-line ceiling of 5–7% by a wide margin, which is the practical reason body-area guidance exists as its own section rather than being inferred from a product's category alone.
The Disclosure Gap: Percentage Is Public, pH Is Not
Concentration disclosure is now the norm — when we tracked a wider set of 51 products in August 2026, 47 stated their percentage, because a number on the label sells, and all 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026 state one (our selection rules favour products that do, so read that figure as a property of our list). But the percentage only tells you half the story: the formula's pH determines how much of that acid is in its active, skin-penetrating "free acid" form.
And pH is where disclosure collapses — but the deeper problem isn't that pH disclosure is rare, it's that even when a brand does disclose it, a published range doesn't tell you the strength. This audit is a dated snapshot, separate from the 13 October 2026 product census above: it covers all 31 brands we tracked on 5 September 2026, including some whose products we have since withdrawn, and it has not been recomputed. We audited the brand's own website for each of the 31 glycolic products sold on Amazon US that we tracked (audited 5 September 2026): of the 26 whose product page could be read, 8 publish a numeric pH — 31%. Thirteen brands raise pH at all, and 5 of those give no number — L'Oreal Paris calls its formula's pH "proprietary," while Botanic Tree, Era Organics, Medix 5.5, and Replenix use language like "pH-balanced" or "pH optimized" with no figure attached.
Of the 8 that do publish a number, 6 give a range rather than a single value: The Ordinary (pH 3.5–3.9), The INKEY List (3.6–4.0), DCL Skincare (3.7, stated tolerance 3.5–3.9), Naturium (3.50–4.00), Minimalist (3.4–4.0), and Perfect Image (1.7–2.0). Only Alpha Skin Care (4.0) and TOUCH (3.5) publish a single value. Glytone is a separate case: it publishes a free acid value directly rather than a pH (its exfoliating body wash is 8.8% free acid, its body lotion 17.5%) — a real disclosed quantity, distinct from the brands above that disclose nothing.
Here's why the range matters more than whether a number exists at all. Applying this site's own free-acid model (Henderson–Hasselbalch, pKa 3.83) to each brand's own stated concentration across its own stated pH range:
| Brand | Stated | Free acid across the range | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimalist | 8%, pH 3.4–4.0 | 3.23% – 5.83% | 1.81× |
| Naturium | 10%, pH 3.50–4.00 | 4.03% – 6.81% | 1.69× |
| The INKEY List | 10%, pH 3.6–4.0 | 4.03% – 6.29% | 1.56× |
| The Ordinary | 7%, pH 3.5–3.9 | 3.22% – 4.77% | 1.48× |
| DCL Skincare | 20%, pH 3.5–3.9 | 9.20% – 13.63% | 1.48× |
| Perfect Image | 30%, pH 1.7–2.0 | 29.56% – 29.78% | 1.01× |
A shopper reading "pH 3.4–4.0" on the Minimalist label has been told the product could deliver anywhere from 3.23% to 5.83% free acid from a single labeled percentage — a 1.81× spread. This isn't an accusation of bad faith: manufacturing tolerance is real, and DCL states its own tolerance range on the label. The point is narrower: the disclosure, as given, does not determine the strength. Perfect Image's 1.01× spread is the model behaving correctly at an extreme, not Perfect Image disclosing better than the rest — its pH sits so far below the 3.83 pKa that nearly all the acid is already in free-acid form regardless of where in the range it falls. Try any of these ranges yourself in the free acid calculator.
Chemical Identity
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IUPAC / common name | 2-hydroxyacetic acid (glycolic acid, hydroxyacetic acid) |
| CAS number | 79-14-1 |
| Molecular weight | 76.05 g/mol — the smallest alpha hydroxy acid |
| pKa | 3.83 |
| Closest AHA by size | Lactic acid, 90.08 g/mol (~18% larger) |
| Natural source | Sugarcane (commercial production is synthetic) |
| Healthy skin surface pH (for context) | ~4.5–5.5; glycolic formulas typically work at pH 3.0–4.0 |
Source for the chemical constants above: PubChem, the NIH's open chemistry database. The molecular size point is the practical one: at 76 g/mol, glycolic acid penetrates the stratum corneum faster and deeper than any other AHA at equal concentration — which is why a 7% glycolic product can out-exfoliate a 10% lactic acid product, and why glycolic is also the most irritating AHA per percentage point.
Regulatory & Clinical Numbers
| Authority / study | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| CIR Expert Panel (US) | ≤10% at pH ≥3.5 | Safety ceiling for consumer glycolic acid products |
| EU SCCNFP (position paper, 2000) | ≤4% at pH ≥3.8 | Precautionary suggestion for cosmetic products "until the required data are available", with warnings to avoid eye contact and protect from UV |
| US FDA | Sun-sensitivity guidance | AHA use measurably increases UV sensitivity; daily SPF advised. Cosmetics are not pre-market "approved" in the US |
| Randomized controlled trial (80 patients, 2019) | 5% ≈ 20% | A well-formulated 5% glycolic complex performed comparably to 20% glycolic acid for mild-to-moderate acne |
| Professional peel range | 20–70% | In-clinic only: timed application, monitored frosting, immediate neutralization. 2–4 week intervals |
| Keratosis pilaris prevalence | ~40% of adults | One of the most common concerns glycolic acid treats; see our KP guide |
| Skin surface renewal cycle | ~28 days | Why visible results take 3–8 weeks — see the before & after timeline |
Set against those regulatory ceilings, the database's own 30% median at-home-peel concentration and 50% disclosed maximum sit well above the CIR's 10% consumer guidance — a reminder that "sold to consumers" and "within the regulator's suggested range" are two different claims, and the gap is exactly where routine and patch-testing guidance earns its keep.
What This Dataset Doesn't Cover
A citation is only as good as its scope, so it's worth being explicit about what the 30-product list is not. It is a curated sample of glycolic acid products available on Amazon US, checked by hand — not a census of the global glycolic acid market. Brands that sell exclusively through their own storefronts, in-store retail, or non-US marketplaces are not represented, which means the true market almost certainly contains formulations at concentrations and price points this dataset doesn't capture. The Ordinary, for instance, sells additional glycolic formats beyond the two listed here that don't appear because they weren't independently verified against an ASIN.
Price is deliberately excluded from every statistic on this page. Amazon pricing changes daily and sometimes hourly, so a "median price" computed today would already be stale by the time this page is cited elsewhere — publishing it as a fact would violate the same reproducibility standard the rest of this page holds to. Product availability (in stock, discontinued) is also a snapshot, not a guarantee; the 30 listed products are rechecked periodically, but a product that was active at last_verified may not be by the time you read this.
Two structural gaps are worth naming directly. First, pH data is almost entirely absent from manufacturer labeling and therefore from this dataset (see the Disclosure Gap section above) — every concentration number on this page should be read alongside that caveat, not as a standalone strength ranking. Second, this is a product database, not a clinical one: the regulatory and clinical figures in the table above come from CIR, the EU SCCNFP, the FDA, and a single published RCT, not from testing any of the 30 products directly. Treat the two categories — what's in the bottles, and what the literature says about the ingredient generally — as related but separately sourced.
Methodology
Product statistics are compiled from our own database, counting only products with an active listing status — the 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026 (two pack sizes of the same product count once) — across 7 formats (cleansers, toners, serums, creams, body washes, peel pads, peels), spanning 17 brands. Products withdrawn from the catalogue since March 2026 are not counted. Every product's ingredient list was checked by hand before inclusion — marketing copy doesn't count. Concentration figures use the brand's disclosed value; blends are counted at their stated total AHA/glycolic figure; a product that lists no usable percentage is excluded from concentration statistics (as of 13 October 2026, none of the 30 does); Glytone publishes a free acid value instead of a label percentage, and those figures are counted as stated. Chemistry constants are sourced from PubChem; regulatory figures link to their primary sources above.
Every catalog-derived number on this page — the format table, the two charts, the brand and blend counts — is computed by a script (scripts/stats-claims.js) that reads only the active rows of src/_data/products.json, and that script's output is checked against this page's built HTML before every deploy. If the catalog changes, the numbers above are recomputed, not hand-edited. Regulatory and clinical figures (CIR, EU SCCNFP, FDA, the acne RCT, KP prevalence, the skin renewal cycle) come from the cited external sources above, not from the product database, and are not machine-verified the same way — treat them as citations to check against their primary source if you're relying on them. Read more about how we research.
Citing This Page
Any figure on this page may be cited freely with attribution. Suggested format:
glycolicacidcleanser.com, "Glycolic Acid Statistics (October 2026): Concentrations, pH Disclosure and Product Data," updated October 2026, https://glycolicacidcleanser.com/glycolic-acid-statistics/
Catalog-derived figures (concentration ranges, medians, disclosure rates, brand and blend counts) are original compilations and may shift slightly as the database grows; this page's "last reviewed" date above reflects the snapshot date.
License: reuse the charts and figures on this page
GAC's own compilation, presentation, and charts on this page — the format table, the two charts above, and the catalog-derived statistics — are licensed CC BY 4.0. Reuse, screenshot, or re-embed them on your own site or in your own writing, provided you credit glycolicacidcleanser.com and link back to this page. This license covers only GAC's own compilation and presentation — it does not extend to the underlying figures or third-party material this page cites (CIR, the EU SCCNFP, the FDA, PubChem, or the cited clinical trial), which remain the property of their original sources.
Attribution line, ready to copy:
Chart/data from glycolicacidcleanser.com, "Glycolic Acid Statistics (October 2026): Concentrations, pH Disclosure and Product Data" (https://glycolicacidcleanser.com/glycolic-acid-statistics/), licensed under CC BY 4.0.HTML version, ready to paste under a reused chart or screenshot:
<p>Chart/data from <a href="https://glycolicacidcleanser.com/glycolic-acid-statistics/">glycolicacidcleanser.com</a>, licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a>.</p>Frequently Asked Questions
What is the strongest glycolic acid you can buy over the counter?
Among the 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026, the strongest over-the-counter formats are 50% gel peels and 35% peel pads sold online. However, regulatory bodies draw the consumer line much lower: the CIR Expert Panel considers up to 10% (at pH 3.5+) appropriate for consumer products, and anything above 20% is professional-peel territory. Products at these higher concentrations — including some sold at 30% and above — are available direct to consumers but carry real chemical-burn risk without professional-style timing and neutralization.
What is the maximum percentage of glycolic acid in body care?
Among the body-specific products we list, the ceiling is around 15-17.5%: a 15% KP body wash and a 17.5% free-acid-value exfoliating body lotion. The two body washes we list sit at 5% and 15%, and body creams at 10-17.5%. Body skin tolerates more than facial skin, but underarms and bikini area are exceptions — they need 5-7% or lower.
What percentage of glycolic acid do most products contain?
Across the 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026, all of which disclose concentration, the median is 10%, but it varies sharply by format: cleansers cluster around 4.9%, toners around 7%, serums around 10%, creams around 17.5%, peel pads around 20%, and at-home peels around 30%. The format you choose effectively chooses your concentration range.
What percentage of glycolic acid should I use on my body, armpits, scalp, or feet?
By body area, our working ranges (no source sets them): underarms and bikini line 5-7%, arms and legs 7-10%, elbows and knees up to 10%, feet and heels up to 10% (some products go to 15%, the ceiling Healthline attributes to Cleveland Clinic). For the scalp there is no established standard — dedicated glycolic scalp products are rare, and most scalp exfoliants use salicylic acid instead; people who do use a glycolic toner on the scalp typically use 5-7% with caution. Full breakdown in our body and underarm guide.
Do brands have to disclose glycolic acid percentage or pH?
No regulation requires either on the label. In practice, most brands state the percentage because it's a selling point: when we tracked a wider set of 51 products in August 2026, 47 did. Every one of the 30 products we list as of 13 October 2026 states it, partly because our selection rules now rank a product that states its percentage above one that does not. pH is different: auditing the 31 brands' own websites (5 September 2026), only 8 of the 26 whose product page could be read publish a numeric pH — 31% — and 6 of those 8 publish a range rather than a single value, which our own free-acid model shows can still hide a 1.5-1.8x difference in real strength. Glytone is the exception that publishes a free acid value directly rather than a pH. For everything else, pH data comes from third-party testing or not at all. See the full audit.
Is glycolic acid FDA approved?
Glycolic acid is not 'FDA approved' the way drugs are — cosmetics don't go through pre-market approval in the US. The FDA has studied AHAs and issued guidance: it considers them safe in cosmetics at the concentrations consumers typically encounter, provided products carry sun-sensitivity warnings, because AHA use measurably increases UV sensitivity. The CIR Expert Panel's safety assessment (up to 10% at pH 3.5+ for consumer use) is the standard the industry follows.
What is the molecular weight and CAS number of glycolic acid?
Glycolic acid (hydroxyacetic acid) has a molecular weight of 76.05 g/mol, CAS number 79-14-1, and a pKa of 3.83. It is the smallest alpha hydroxy acid — lactic acid, the next smallest, is 90.08 g/mol. That small molecular size is why glycolic acid penetrates skin faster and deeper than other AHAs at the same concentration.