Citric Acid

[si-trik, as-id]

Categories: Skin Repair, Plant Extracts

Benefits:
Skin Repair
Skin Barrier Function

Citric acid is a weak organic acid that is naturally found within citrus fruits, especially from citrus fruits such as lemons and limes. Its usual commercial uses in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals include its role as a pH adjustor and skin thickening agent within gels and creams. Citric acid’s clinical effects include being able to help improve the appearance of photoaged skin, help improve the skin elasticity, increase skin firmness, as well as an skin exfoliator, therefore helping with allowing new cells surface the skin faster to allow smooth skin.1-2

Citric acid has also been suggested to help repair skin barrier function. Citric acid manages to do this by maintaining the optimum level of acidic pH in areas of the skin which are essential for normal skin barrier function.3

  1. Bernstein, Eric F., Charles B. Underbill, Jouni Lakkakorpi, Cherie M. Ditre, Jouni Uitto, Ruey J. Yu, and Eugene Van Scott. "Citric Acid Increases Viable Epidermal Thickness and Glycosaminoglycan Content of Sundamaged Skin." Dermatologic Surgery 23.8 (1997): 689-94.PubMed. Web. 12 Feb. 2016
  2. Ditre, Chérie M., Thomas D. Griffin, George F. Murphy, Hirohiko Sueki, Brett Telegan, Waine C. Johnson, Ruey J. Yu, and Eugene J. Van Scott. "Effects of α-hydroxy Acids on Photoaged Skin: Apilot Clinical, Histologic, and Ultrastructural Study." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 34.2 (1996): 187-95. PubMed. Web. 12 Feb. 2016
  3. Lee, Hae-Jin, Na Young Yoon, Noo Ri Lee, Minyoung Jung, Dong Hye Kim, and Eung Ho Choi. "Topical Acidic Cream Prevents the Development of Atopic Dermatitis- and Asthma-like Lesions in Murine Model."Experimental Dermatology Exp Dermatol 23.10 (2014): 736-41.PubMed. Web. 11 Feb. 2016