Why glycolic acid is your skin's best friend for the winter season

The cold might steal your glow, but this exfoliating hero brings it right back.

23 December, 2025
Why glycolic acid is your skin's best friend for the winter season

Winter is basically glow-robbery season. Your perfectly normal skin suddenly decides to turn dry, flaky, moody, and absolutely impossible to please. Between indoor heating, cold winds, and a general lack of humidity, your barrier is stressed out and dullness becomes your everyday reality. And honestly, no amount of sheet masks feel like they are doing their job right. That’s exactly why winter routines need ingredients that don’t just sit on your skin, but ones that actually work through the layers.

Enter glycolic acid, the quiet hero of the skincare world. It’s tiny enough to go deep, strong enough to remove dead cells, and gentle enough (when used right) to keep your winter skin smooth and bright instead of tight and itchy. It is the ingredient that keeps your makeup sitting better, your serums absorbing quicker, and your skin looking alive even when you feel like a frozen bean.

Why is it your winter bestie

Glycolic acid helps shed dull, dry, dead skin cells that tend to pile up in winter, revealing fresher, softer skin underneath. Because it smooths your texture, your moisturiser actually penetrates instead of just sitting on top. It also boosts cell turnover, which means you get that lit-from-within brightness winter usually kills. When used in low concentrations and paired with good hydration, it can actually strengthen your skin barrier over time, not weaken it. Basically, when your skin is feeling blah, glycolic acid brings the vibe back.

Here are the products you need.

Pixi Glow Tonic Exfoliating Toner With Glycolic Acid, ₹1,590


The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner, ₹1,275


L'Oreal Paris Glycolic Bright Instant Glowing Serum 8% Glycolic Acid, ₹749


Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid, ₹1,350


Aminu Overnight Peel, ₹1,000


Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel Exfoliant, ₹3,100


Novology Pigmentation Reduction Serum, ₹850


All images: Featured brands

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