What is sugar in skincare?
Sugar appears in skincare in two quite different roles. As granulated sucrose it is the base of countless body scrubs; as a chemical precursor it is where glycolic acid – the most studied alpha-hydroxy acid – originally comes from, extracted from sugar cane.
Sugar is also a natural humectant, which is why a sugar scrub leaves skin feeling softer than a salt one, and why honey and molasses behave the way they do on skin.
What skin concerns does sugar treat?
As a body scrub it lifts dead cells and smooths rough patches on elbows, knees and legs. Its crystals are rounder and dissolve faster than salt, so it is the gentler of the two physical exfoliants.
For the face, the derived acid is what matters. Glycolic acid resurfaces, brightens, fades pigmentation and stimulates collagen – none of which a sugar scrub does. Scrubbing facial skin with crystals creates micro-tears and inflammation instead.
What ingredients are best paired with sugar?
In a body scrub, combine it with an oil – coconut, almond, jojoba – which cushions the abrasion and moisturises as you rinse. Use it before shaving, not after, and never on broken or sunburnt skin.
For facial exfoliation, use a formulated AHA: glycolic acid for resilient skin, lactic acid for dry or sensitive skin, or a PHA if acids usually sting. All deliver what a scrub promises, without the mechanical damage. Take our Skin Quiz.
What are acne scars?
Acne scars are permanent changes in skin texture left behind after inflammatory acne damages the dermis. They fall into two families: atrophic scars, which sit below the surface as ice-pick, boxcar or rolling depressions, and hypertrophic or keloid scars, which sit raised above it.
What most people call scarring is often post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or erythema – flat brown or red marks with no texture change. Those fade on their own; true atrophic scars do not.
What causes acne scars?
Scarring happens when inflammation reaches deep enough to destroy collagen and the repair process either lays down too little (atrophic) or too much (hypertrophic). Deep nodular and cystic lesions carry the highest risk.
Delaying treatment, picking or squeezing, and prolonged inflammation all increase the odds. Genetics play a large part in who scars and how, which is why two people with identical acne can heal very differently.
What ingredients are best for acne scars?
For flat marks, ingredients that speed turnover and calm pigment work well: retinoids, vitamin C, niacinamide, azelaic acid, alpha arbutin and AHAs, with daily SPF to stop marks darkening again.
For true textural scarring, topicals can soften but not erase – retinoids and peptides help remodel collagen over months, while in-clinic options like microneedling, resurfacing and subcision do the heavy lifting. Preventing new inflammation is the highest-value step. Take our Skin Quiz.
