Review: NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Line

In my London Drugs Beauty recap post, I mentioned that NeoStrata was the first to put glycolic acid products out in the consumer market. Their Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Cream at 5% glycolic acid concentration has been around for a while, followed by a 10% version I previewed at the LD Beauty event. Recently, NeoStrata has also introduced a lighter-weight formula in the Smoothing Lotion in 5% and 10% for combination and oily skin. From experience, I know that my skin takes very well to glycolic acid so I was pretty excited to test the Glycolic Renewal range.

NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Cream in 5%, 10%, Smoothing Lotion in 5%, 10%

First off, if you're not familiar with glycolic acid, here's the abridged version: it's a form of AHA (alpha hydroxy acid), which is sometimes referred to as a "chemical" or "leave-on" exfoliant--it removes buildup of dead skin cells without the friction and rubbing of "physical" exfoliants like facial scrubs. It also acts as a humectant, drawing moisture to the skin, so it's extra helpful for dry or dehydrated skin types. There is plenty of literature out there to support NeoStrata's promises of skin tone evenness and improved skin texture with their Glycolic Renewal line.

The Smoothing Cream line is recommended for normal to dry skin, and the Smoothing Lotion line is for combination to oily. The 5% concentration in the cream or lotion formula is recommended for sensitive skin. 10% is the highest concentration you can get over-the-counter before you need a prescription or have a professional perform an AHA peel.

The 50mL bottle has hygenic airless pump packaging that provides good control over how much product to dispense. (We've all had that one product with the pump that dispenses way too much, yes?)

As long as you're not sensitive to AHA, a wide range of skin types can benefit from using AHA products, so it's nice that there's two formulations available. Here's a study about a glycolic/lactic acid mix that was observed to decrease the appearance of pores, blackheads, whiteheads, and sebum output.


Over the summer when my skin tends to be a little closer to normal, I've been using the 10% Smoothing Lotion daily. Once the weather gets colder, I'll be using the more moisturizing Smoothing Cream, which includes argan oil and moringa oil. I sometimes struggle with skin care reviews because it can take a long time to see a difference, if any, but the difference with the Glycolic Renewal line (and other AHA moisturizers, tbh) was very clear to me: my skin is so much more even-looking and smooth when I include AHA in my routine.

I much, much prefer leave-on exfoliation over physical, and I get better results too. My face is a bit sensitive to a lot of scrubbing--I only use my Clarisonic for about 10 seconds once a week.

NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Cream in 5%, 10%, Smoothing Lotion in 5%, 10%

Not sure why the 5% concentrations seem to have more of putty/beige colour, although the Smoothing Cream 5% does include shea butter. The lotions are definitely much lighter, probably because they don't have shea butter or oils like the creams.

One thing to note about the 5% concentrations is that alcohol (not the good fatty kind) is second on the ingredient list, whereas the 10% doesn't have it at all. It could be to enhance penetration for the lower concentration glycolic acid, or something, I'm not sure. It may be a concern for those that are sensitive to denatured alcohol. I'm in this camp, but personally I think the Smoothing Cream 5% has enough moisturizing ingredients to counteract the irritating, drying effects of the alcohol, so I didn't have any problems testing it.

Okay, so if you're new to AHAs, how do you work Glycolic Renewal into your skin care routine? My suggestions:

1. Play it safe and go with the lower concentration. The packaging even states that first-time users should start with 5% in order to build up skin tolerance, and use 10% afterwards.
2. Do not think you can buy 10% and mix it with something else to dilute it and achieve a lower concentration. AHA products are finicky things and are formulated to sit at a certain pH to be effective. Mess with that and you may not see any results at all.
3. Patch test! Some stinging/tingling with AHAs is common, but be on the lookout for redness or other signs of irritation. If it's all good, use infrequently and slowly build up your tolerance. Try once a week or once every couple days and work up from there. Too much too soon, and your skin can get pretty irritated. Even though my skin is fairly tolerant now, even I got some irritation when I got greedy and tried to use it twice daily.
4. Wear sunscreen daily. I mean, I hope you're doing this anyway, but especially with AHAs because they increase sensitivity to sun.
5. Be mindful of the timing of application. If I apply something else on first, I give that 5-10 minutes before I apply the Glycolic Renewal, then wait 5-10 minutes before applying the next step. This goes back to the pH thing: I want things to have time to absorb and avoid inadvertently mixing product and changing the pH.

I have experience with AHA products before, so I tested the 5% briefly for review purposes, then skipped ahead and added the 10% Smoothing Lotion to my regular routine. Compared to what I've used before, the NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal line feels very well formulated. It works well under makeup and has definitely improved the appearance of my skin. The only (small) drawback is that they have an odd, musty smell to them. Like wet towel left on the floor kind of musty. It's not great but not so bad that it would turn me off completely from an otherwise great product. All in all, definitely worth checking out, worth the $39 CAD, and I think most people would benefit from adding it to their routine.

Last note! NeoStrata is the official skin care sponsor of the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival, and they've partnered up with London Drugs to provide skin care consultations on-site at VIFF, September 24 - October 9. If you go to check out top films from around the world and BC, be sure to say hello to the folks from NeoStrata and London Drugs!


Available at London Drugs: $39 CAD / 50 ml

NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Cream 5% ingredients: aqua, alcohol, glycolic acid, lecithin, sodium hydroxide, Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), sodium acrylates copolymer, glycerin, 1,2-hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, tropolone, tocopheryl acetate, allatoin, Helianthus annus (sunflower) seed oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, hydrolyzed glycosaminoglycans, sodium hyaluronate, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, sodium stearoyl glutamate, dimethicone, fragrance

NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Cream 10% ingredients: aqua, glycolic acid, arginine, cetearyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, PEG-40 stearate, ceteareth-20, trimethylolpropane tricaprylate / tricaprate, triethanolamine, glycerin, Vigna acontifolia seed extract, sodium citrate, petrolatum, ammonium hydroxide, behenyl alcohol, caprylyl methicone, Argania spinosa kernel oil, triundecanoin, titanium dioxide, caprylic / capric triglyceride, isostearic acid, alumina, polyhydroxystearic acid, stearic acid, polyglycerl-3 polyricinoleate, lecithin, moringa oil / hydrogenated moringa oil esters, tocopheryl acetate, allantoin, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, caprylyl glycol, sorbic acid, magnesium aluminum silicate, disodium magnesium aluminum silicate, disodium EDTA, hydroxyethylcellulose, methyl glucose sesquistearate, phenoxyethanol, fragrance

NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Lotion 5% ingredients: aqua, alcohol, glycolic acid, lecithin, sodium hydroxide, neopentyl glycol diheptanoate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, silica, polymethylmethacrylate, cholesterol, cetyl ricinoleate, dimethicone, polysilicone-11, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethiconol, propanediol, Ximenia americana bark extract, allantoin, tocopheryl acetate, sodium acrylates / beheneth-25 methacrylate crosspolymer, hydrogenated polydecene, lauryl glucoside, polyacrylate-13, polyisobutene, polysorbate 20, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate / VP copolymer, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, ethylhexylglycerin, polydimethylsiloxane, bis-vinyl dimethicone / dimethicone copolymer, magnesium aluminum silicate, PEG-10 soy sterol, disodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, fragrance, ethylene brassylate

NeoStrata Glycolic Renewal Smoothing Lotion 10% ingredients: aqua, glycolic acid, arginine, neopentyl glycol diheptanoate, triethanolamine, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, silica, polymethylmethacrylate, ammonium hydroxide, cholesterol, cetyl ricinoleate, dimethicone, polysilicone-11, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethiconol, propanediol, Ximenia americana bark extract, allantoin, tocopherol acetate, hydrogenated polydecene, polydimethylsiloxane, bis-vinyl dimethicone / dimethicone copolymer, polyacrylate-13, polyisobutene, polysorbate 20, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, PEG-10 soy sterol, magnesium aluminum silicate, sodium stearoyl glutamate, disodium EDTA, sodium acrylates / beheneth-25 methacrylate crosspolymer, lauryl glycoside, fragrance, ethylene brassylate