Why Is Citric Acid Good For Your Skin?

The word citric acid may sound more like a chemical than a skincare ingredient. It’s one of the most dominant and trending acids that is widely used as a flavouring agent in various food products. We know there’s no shortage of AHAs in the beauty world, but lactic and glycolic acid often get all the attention and citric acid takes a backseat. 

Using citric acid in your skincare isn't something new but a few questions arise - is it effective? How is it better than other AHAs? 

Read on to know the benefits, usage and what products to invest in when it comes to citric acid. 

Citric acid in skincare

Commonly found in citrus fruits such as grape, lemon, oranges and berries, citric acid is a great exfoliating agent that brightens your skin. It also improves the appearance of your dull skin, improves elasticity, and boosts firmness.

Benefits of citric acid for skin

It’s a great exfoliating agent that helps to brighten your dull skin complexion. It also fights external aggressors like pollutants, dirt and UV rays.

• Brightens your skin: A well-known ingredient to exfoliate, citric acid removes dead skin cells to visibly brighten the skin

• Soothes acne and acne scars: The acne-prone and oily skin type can get the benefit of citric acid with mild exfoliation. The harsh chemical peels use ingredients that may aggravate breakouts as they can strip away the essential oil from your skin and deplete skin moisture levels. And citric acid works soothes down your inflamed skin while helping to reduce your acne scars

• Maintain skin’s pH level: Our skin is normally acidic, so while using an exfoliating acid, you might have experienced a stinging sensation. Citric acid helps to balance skincare formulas as it keeps the products from becoming too alkaline

• Unclogs pores: Our pores easily get clogged with dead skin cells, dirt and bacteria, ultimately leading to breakouts. Citric acid gently unclogs pores and shrinks them to avoid future congestion

• Repairs sun-damaged skin: It prevents UV rays from penetrating deeper into the skin, thereby preventing pigmentation and photodamage 

Can it be used by all skin types? 

Citric acid is indeed a safe option for all skin types. If you have oily skin, there are chances that your skin can tolerate a higher concentration of citric acid compared to people who have sensitive or dry skin. But, if you have hypersensitive skin, it’s a big NO-NO for you to invest in this acid. 

Quench skincare with citric acid 

• Mon Cherry Brightening Foam Cleanser

Using a rinse-off product like a cleanser is always a great way to ease into an active ingredient. Mon Cherry Brightening Foam Cleanser is a gentle formula that purifies, detoxifies and soothes skin. It also melts away dead skin cells, removes impurities, and makeup, to reveal a smoother complexion. Well, extra credit to citric acid! 

• Mon Cherry Brightening Face Mist

This is a beautiful mist for anyone looking to tackle signs of ageing and clogged pores. Mon Cherry Brightening Face Mist combines skin-plumping hyaluronic acid and AHA citric acid that hydrates, protects and gives your complexion a boost of moisture. Using it in your morning regime under sunscreen will help you achieve a youthful complexion. 

Citric acid is extremely beneficial to your skin but always do a patch test beforehand. And if you invest in citric acid in your AM skincare routine, make sure you invest in an SPF after you are done because citric acid increases the photosensitivity of your skin. Before introducing citric acid to your skincare regime, always do a patch test by applying pea-sized amounts to the forearm and leave it for 12 hours and keep a close eye for any signs of irritation.