The 6oz. glycolic acid (AHA) plus lichochalcone is for sale. I sat down with a calculator and crunched numbers to get it to stay between my target of $15 and $20 and managed to get it down to $16.11.

You can read more about glycolic acid, aka alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) here, and more about lichochalcone here.

I personally use it for spot treatment, body acne treatment, and flakiness control. It is not required on the Acne.org Regimen, but it’s a nice addition that I recommend for pretty much everyone. For me, it takes my skin from clear to pretty much perfect.

I look forward to your feedback.

I got the AHA filled this week and it’s awaiting final tests to make sure it’s ready for sale. I’m hoping to have it for sale next week. I’m still working on pricing, trying to keep it as low as I can.

And a quick Sal Acid update…tubes being labeled. Then we’ll start filling. Still a couple of months off probably. Yeah, I know, it’s slow, but I’m doing absolutely everything I can. I actually think I’m totally bugging everybody involved

A bunch of people are asking about the AHA so here’s a quick update:

The labels are printed so it’s just a matter of getting them applied to the tubes. This requires sending them out and takes 2 and a half weeks. Then we’ll send the labeled tubes to get filled. Filling can take a while too because our filler are sticklers for quality every step of the way. But the ball is most definitely rolling. Believe me, I want this as much as anybody. I’m running out of my sample! I’ve learned never to promise a date, but I’m working on it as quickly as I can.

I still need to find out more specifics, but since I said I would post regarding the products, here’s what I know so far. Keep in mind that you never know what can pop up and get in the way of production, so the time lines are simply guesses and could vary widely.

8oz. Organic Jojoba Oil: Being filled today! I hope to have it for sale in the coming weeks/month.

6oz. AHA + lichochalcone: Finalizing artwork for labels. I’m hoping to get it filled next month and perhaps have it for sale in May or June. I can’t wait to get this out to you guys. I think it’s incredible.

6oz. Salicylic Acid + ingredients that calm and soothe acne-prone skin: We’re still pretty far off on this one. I’ve finished tweaking it to get it as perfect as I can. However, since I do not find salicylic acid as effective as benzoyl peroxide or alpha hydroxy acid, I am planning on releasing it in only a very limited amount to see what you guys think. I might not even put it on the store, and instead just let people know on the boards and on the blog where they can order it. Once, and if, we’ve decided we love it, I’ll make it in larger quantities.

Because I know that AHA makes you more sensitive to the sun, normally I’ll put SPF on over it. But yesterday, because I thought I was just running a few errands and wouldn’t be in the sun very long, I decided against the SPF step. I was out for a couple of hours, getting in and out of my car, walking to and from, here and there. I really wasn’t out in the sun all that long, but still, my forehead got quite red. I just wanted to share my experience as a little warning to everyone who is using, or about to use, AHA. We have to be more cognizant of sun exposure while applying this stuff.

Hey you guys. I am very excited to report that I am still clear now that I’m using BP just at night and AHA in the morning. I previously switched to using just AHA at night, but changed it again so I’m using AHA in the morning so that I can wear colorful clothes without worry of bleaching during the day. I am so in love with this AHA. Our formulators did an incredible job. It is in a moisturizing base, and since it works with a different mechanism than BP I can put it on right after I shower without waiting for my skin to dry. Plus, my skin looks and feels great. My tone is even and I have a sixth sense that I have very few microcomedones. This means I have an intuitive sense that I have very few microscopic clogged pores that can cause trouble. So, my new morning routine is:

1. Shower
2. Apply AHA
3. Put on something colorful that I won’t bleach during the day
4. Put on SPF if it’s sunny (AHA makes skin more sensitive to sunlight)
5. Walk out the door

It is much easier than doing the regimen twice a day, so I’m psyched. I’m doing everything I can to get the AHA out to everyone as fast as I can, but these things take time. I’ll post a blog entry about the products in the pipeline in the next day or two.

I’ve been a big fan of 10% glycolic acid for years. I’ve found that it’s a great spot treatment and seen it work great on people’s body acne as well. Recently I decided to make one for us myself, and added lichochalcone, a powerful licorice root extract which may be incredible at interrupting the inflammation cascade (it’ll be out in the coming months).

At any rate, I started using this new 10% AHA + lichochalcone in the evenings in place of my usual moisturizer a few weeks ago. My skin has been 100% perfect since then. The regimen usually keeps me clear, but every so often I’ll at least see something minor trying to pop up that I need to zap with AHA. But since I started using the AHA at night, I am in no fear of having anything whatsoever. It’s pretty great. So, in the interest of experimentation, as of two days ago I started using only the AHA at night and eliminating the benzoyl peroxide. So far so good. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

I should mention that I am also trying different SPF formulations pretty much every day in an attempt to formulate the perfect SPF for us. Playing with two variables at the same time (eliminating BP at night and changing SPF each day) is not the smartest way to figure out what works and what doesn’t, so my experiment is a bit flawed. Regardless, if I can stay completely clear with just AHA at night, even with changing my SPF moisturizer every day, that’ll be pretty cool.

10% AHA: It’s been finalized and I am super in love with it. It will have 3 uses; as a spot treatment, as a body acne treatment, and as a hard-core AHA moisturizer. I’ve been using it every morning instead of the usual moisturizer and my skin is ridiculously perfect. I am going to place an order tomorrow for the tubes and product and will launch this product in a 6oz. size. Eventually if you guys are as in love with it as I am we can fill it in other sizes. I’ll put it in a tube because, um, I guess you guys like tubes better We’re looking at probably three or four more months to launch. Sorry it’s taken so long. I wanted to get it exactly perfect. My best guess is it will cost between $12 and $15. The stuff is crazy expensive to produce because glycolic acid is so expensive and we have other expensive ingredients in there (lichochalcone for instance is $6,000 per kilogram), but as usual I’ll price it as low as I can.

Jojoba: I’m also ready to place an order tomorrow for the organic jojoba oil. I will launch this in an 8oz. size. I’m hoping this will be out before the AHA. I’m aiming to price it in the $12-$15 range as well. Again, if you guys really want it, I can start to fill it in smaller and larger sizes as well.

Salicylic acid + anti-inflammatories + sebum reducers: It’s good to go as well. I’ll order it up in a small quantity most likely and launch it in a 4oz. tube. This one is more of a wild-card. The vast majority of people who I have asked to try it have reported that it’s the best sal acid they’ve ever tried, but can it approach the efficacy of benzoyl peroxide? Benzoyl peroxide is so good that I don’t expect anything to match it. But then again, it may meet a need for people who don’t like benzoyl peroxide for some reason. I am also excited to see how you guys fit it into your own regimens. Launch date: 3-4 months. Price: Hopefully I can keep it under $10.

SPF: Your guess, as usual, is as good as mine. I continue trying samples and I am not loving anything. Most recently I tried a powder sunscreen–pure minerals. I hated it. It made me flaky and left a kinda weird feeling on my face all day. I’m so frustrated that I decided I am going to start working “on the bench” as they call it in the formulating world. What this means is I’m going to visit a local renown formulator and trial samples right there on the spot and ask him to change things as I watch. I am setting an intention to produce the world’s best sunscreen for acne prone skin, and gosh darn it, I don’t care how long it takes. We’ll do it!

New and improved moisturizer: More samples are on their way. I will keep you posted.

Brandy let me know that a bunch of people are asking her what’s up with the new products. Here’s a quick update:

New and Improved Moisturizer: I got a new sample with the addition of twice the jojoba (10%) and lichochalcone (powerful anti-inflammatory, imparts yellow color). We removed stearic acid and are in the process of switching out the preservatives (to reduce any possible sting). I tried the latest sample and it is great, but I wouldn’t mind it being even more moisturizing. Therefore, we are adding an extra humectant (perhaps MP Diol) and I will try that sample soon. RELEASE DATE: Several months away. COST: Hopefully the same.

SPF Moisturizer: I tried another sample of a zinc oxide based SPF. We may be between a rock and a hard place with the SPF. I am committed to zinc oxide for its broad spectrum support, but it goes on white, and can sometimes leave the skin feeling a bit tight. I asked them to bump up the humectants again, and add more jojoba to the mix. They’ll resample me on this soon. RELEASE DATE: Your guess is as good as mine. COST: The same as the non-SPF moisturizer.

Salicylic Acid: Stability testing will be completed in early November. If it passes, we’ll print labels and put it into production at that time. RELEASE DATE: A couple/few months. PRICE: Probably about the same as the benzoyl peroxide, perhaps a bit more.

10% Glycolic: I sent out a bunch of samples to the moderators. If they approve of it, I’ll put it into production. I am in love with it. RELEASE DATE: A few months. PRICE: Probably about the same as the moisturizer.

Organic Jojoba Oil: Our testers are liking it and so am I. I am getting clear bottle samples in the mail hopefully early this week, and I’m trying to finalize what kind of cap they should have. RELEASE DATE: A few months. PRICE: Organic Jojoba is very expensive but as always I will try to keep the price as low as I possibly can.

Also, we are going to small/medium/large for all of our products. Everything will now be in 2oz. (trial and travel size), 8oz. (medium size), and 16oz. (bulk size). Acne.org will be much more open in the future to different people’s regimens, so having small/medium/large will allow everyone to mix and match as needed for whichever regimen they choose. The products will all be in curved bottles instead of tubes, and have really cool looking new packaging that Paul, Kent, Joel and I have been working on. I hope you like the new look. I promise I’ll try to stick with this look for a while.

I got a very cool sample of the AHA which feels good, goes on light, spreads easily, and has anti-inflammatories, sebum reducers, and antimicrobials in it. Good stuff. But, when I looked at the ingredient list I noticed a couple of ingredients I’d prefer to change to more inert and soothing stuff. I brought this up with the formulator and he is re-doing the formulation with other ingredients.

I decided to make the AHA in two sizes by the way, one 2oz. tube for spot treatment, and a second one in an 8oz. tube for body acne treatment. That way I can sell a smaller one at a more affordable price for people who will only use it sparingly.