Look around
your kitchen and you'll find a handful of natural health remedies, from
cough-soothing honey to puffy eye-reducing cucumbers. In fact, your
refrigerator may hold a real-life fountain of youth: milk. It contains lactic
acid, which is the key to healthy, smooth skin.
Lactic acid
is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). AHAs are acids derived from foods, and, as it
turns out a type of acid that's safe to apply to our skin. Lactic acid is found
in sour milk, but you may have also heard of or tried other AHAs, such as glycolic
acid, from sugar cane, which is also a popular ingredient in anti-aging topical
skin care products.
Applied
topically and regularly to your skin, AHAs help reduce the appearance of aging, and
they can be an especially good remedy against fine lines, wrinkles, sagging skin and other
signs of premature aging from sun damage by promoting collagen growth in the deeper layers of
your skin.
Products
such as cleansers, lotions and peels that contain lactic acid are applied
topically to the skin, and they get right to work. These products improve
skin's texture through exfoliation -- AHAs encourage the skin to slough off its
old, dead skin cells revealing the glow of healthy skin cells hidden
underneath.
There are a range of ways to apply lactic acid topically, so put down the milk carton and consult with a skin expert to get advice on how to best incorporate Lactic Acid into your skincare regime, and if it is suitable for you.
