Caredermis

Lactic Acid

Severity 3/10Editorial

exfoliant · humectant

Is Lactic Acid safe?

Lactic Acid carries only minor concerns (irritation) at typical cosmetic levels.

In plain language

A gentler AHA that exfoliates and hydrates simultaneously; the usual pick for drier or more reactive skin starting acids.

A Caredermis plain-language explanation to help you read the label — not a regulator statement. The sourced facts are the classifications and status shown on this page.

Documented concerns

Concerns marked Editorialare Caredermis' own dermatological review; the rest are drawn from official data — see the cited sources ↓

Irritation

Editorial3/10

Milder than glycolic; still increases photosensitivity.

Official regulatory status

Pulled directly from official regulatory datasets and expert reviews — not our own judgement.

CIR: safe as used (with qualifications)

Guidance by skin profile

Caredermis editorial guidance based on the concerns above — checked against the official records on every build, but not itself a regulator statement.

  • Sensitive skinUse with caution
  • Oily & acne-proneNo specific concern
  • Dry skinNo specific concern
  • PregnancyNo specific concern
  • Babies & kidsUse with caution
  • Eczema-proneUse with caution

Sources

Each authority below is shown only because our ingested copy of its data lists Lactic Acid — not because we asserted it. Follow a link to verify the classification or regulation directly.

CIR conclusion from the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Quick Reference Table — cir-safety.org (snapshot in data/sources/)(point-in-time snapshot; CIR's live record may have been updated since).

See our methodology for how these map to concern levels. Informational only — not medical advice.

Products in our library containing Lactic Acid

Related ingredients

Ingredients with a similar role or shared type of concern — useful for comparing what's on your label.

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