Al
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Thioctic Acid · Alpha Lipoic AcidAntioxidant
An antioxidant. In one 12-week trial, a 5% cream left skin a bit less rough than the same cream without it.
What it does
It’s an antioxidant. On skin, its evidence is a single small trial, where a 5% cream did only a little better than the same cream without it.
The evidence, graded
strongBeitner (2003): 33 women (mean age 54.4) applied a 5% alpha-lipoic acid cream to half the face and an identical cream without it to the other half, twice daily for 12 weeks. All four ways of measuring favored the treated side. Laser profilometry showed an average 50.8% decrease in roughness on the treated side versus 40.7% on the placebo side.Beitner 2003 · British Journal of Dermatology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Also known as
ALA
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