tldr; Reddit recommends The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% as an affordable, effective chemical exfoliant for body and face, helping with dark spots and skin texture over time.
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Best praise vs top criticism for The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution
“I've said it for years, but skincare *products* are maybe 20% of the whole that is skin-care. The rest is everything you do outside of applying stuff on your face: diet, movement, stress management, sleep, pollutants, even your environment’s humidity (mentioning the last one, because I recently nuked my barrier because of how dry the indoor air was. No amount of products would have helped that). Much like you can’t out-train a poor diet, don't expect to exfoliate your way out of internal inflammation or a sub-optimal lifestyle. If your skin is already inflamed or under stress, throwing more acids on top just makes it worse. From what you’re describing - blackheads, flare-ups, “hormonal” swings - sounds less like a bad product and more like skin that’s overloaded and constantly trying to re-calibrate. That said, your current combo, while both are objectively good products, sounds a bit too much. Using both a 2% salicylic cleanser and a 7% glycolic toner for months at a time is quite a bit, even if you wash off the cleanser. Chronic micro-inflammation means pores never fully normalize, and that’s why it feels like the breakouts keep “resetting.” Not saying this is the definitive answer, but some people can naturally handle a 7% glycolic daily, while others need to be extra careful to do proper aftercare after only doing it twice a week. Try pulling back on actives. Drop the glycolic toner for a week or two and keep BHA use to 2–3x a week max. And focus on having a healthy and strong barrier before anything else.”
“about the hyperpigmentation around your mouth, i know exactly what you're talking about! unfortunately there's soo many different conditions that cause it (melasma, facial pigmentary demarcation, perioral dermatitis, etc.) asking a derm or even your gp (if they're knowledgeable on skin conditions) could be helpful. when testing out the glycolic toner, do it as the last step of your routine and take a cotton pad and swipe it across one fairly small area of your face. usually you would do this as the first step of your routine, but if you do toner > serums > moisturizer, the toner will spread to the rest of your face when you're putting your other products on, even if you only applied it to a small area. so just do it last! also, i wouldn't recommend getting cotton pads from target, cvs, etc. because they soak up sooo much product and they shred so easily. i would suggest korean cotton squares instead (i really like pyunkang yul on yesstyle) since they are super thin (easily saturated and don't tear). just be careful with the toner since it is pretty strong. maybe use it just 1-2 times a week. after like 2-3 weeks of testing, if it doesn't break you out, you can use it on your entire face with either a cotton pad or your hands.”
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56 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 2/24/2026