Active

Resurfacing Acid

Mandelic and lactic acids, 12%.

$165

30 mL / 1.0 fl. oz.

Leaves skin looking
smoother-looking
more even-looking
clearer

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Pairs well with

Barrier Cream$145
Cleansing Milk$65

The hot end of the scale. A weekly resurfacing acid at a concentration that does the work in one pass rather than three. Mandelic is the larger molecule and moves slowly; lactic is smaller and moves faster. Together they loosen the surface evenly instead of stripping it, so tone looks more even and texture looks smoother without the week of tightness that usually follows.

Use it and then leave the skin alone. Nothing else on the same night.

On the label

Resurfacing Acid

What it is: Mandelic and lactic acids, 12%.
Benefits: • smoother-looking
• more even-looking
• clearer
Where it fits: Your resurface step.
Key ingredients: mandelic acid • lactic acid

How to use

(01)
Twice a week at most
At night, on dry skin. Four drops, avoiding the eye area.
(02)
Nothing else that evening
Do not follow with another acid or a retinoid on the same night.
(03)
SPF the next morning
Daily SPF is not optional while you are using this.

The formulation

mandelic acid: the larger of the two acids, so it moves through the surface slowly and evenly rather than all at once
lactic acid: smaller and faster, and humectant in its own right, so the surface is loosened without being left tight

also made with gluconolactone, glycerin, panthenol

How it compares

	Resurfacing Acid	A typical prestige serum
Strength	12%, printed on the bottle	"High-strength complex", unquantified
Frequency	Once or twice weekly, and it says so	"Use daily" — on an acid
What follows it	Nothing. The page says nothing	Three more steps, sold separately
Price	$165, and it does not move	$188 in March, $132 in November