Alpha hydroxy acids
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
FDA is still "grappling" with the issue of whether and how to regulate alpha hydroxy acid skin care products, John Bailey, director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors, told FDA's Dermatologic Drugs Advisory Committee Sept. 22 ("The Tan Sheet" Jan. 3, p. 24). "It will be a very challenging process for FDA to define the difference between the drug uses of AHA and cosmetics uses in broad terms such as a policy statement," he added. However, Bailey noted one distinction: "If, under certain conditions with the formulation, only superficial exfoliation is occurring, then these are cosmetics and we would have no problem with them," he said. On the other hand, "if there's significant loss of stratum corneum and the physiological process of skin is impaired, then I think we're...looking at drugs"