Pigmentation: Alpha hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid

These ingredients (and also beta hydroxy acid and polyhydroxy acids) exist as exfoliating cleansers, as acid toners, as serums and as masks. Pick a form that suits your budget and your skin – they’ll all have the same exfoliating effect mentioned above, which helps to soften pigmentation. They also help treatment products applied after cleansing to be absorbed more evenly and deeply without the surface layer of dead skin cells impeding their progress, which in turn allows these products to have a greater effect.