Ta
Tartaric Acid
Tartaric AcidExfoliant
An exfoliating acid from grapes, little studied on its own. Like glycolic acid, it makes skin more sun-sensitive.
What it does
It’s an exfoliating acid from grapes and wine. It’s stronger than citric acid but milder than glycolic at the same strength. It usually appears in blends of several acids rather than on its own. It makes skin more sensitive to sun.
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUse retinol and AHAs like glycolic or lactic acid on alternate nights, or the acid in the morning and retinol at night: the acid and the retinoid each irritate skin on their own. In the one study of the pair Drop's sources describe, retinol with glycolic acid improved photoaged skin more than either alone; it measured results, not comfort. Splitting them is a careful default, not a proven rule: no study Drop has read measured their irritation together.Mukherjee 2006 · Clinical Interventions in Aging ↗
expert consensusAdd an AHA and salicylic acid one at a time, within a safety panel's limits: AHAs under 10% at pH 3.5 or higher, salicylic acid under 3%. The review says salicylic acid is not a beta hydroxy acid and doesn't act like one, despite the label. In one study 10% glycolic acid made skin more sun-sensitive and 2% salicylic acid did not. No source Drop has read tested the two used together, so Drop can't tell you the pair is safe or that it isn't.Kornhauser 2010 · Clinical and Cosmetic Investigative Dermatology ↗
expert consensusThe FDA says how much an AHA exfoliates depends on the type and strength of the acid, its pH, and the other ingredients. An industry safety panel judged glycolic and lactic acid safe at 10% or less with a pH of 3.5 or higher, to limit irritation. Lactic acid moisturizes better when it is partly or fully neutralized. No source Drop has read gives a pH below which an AHA starts to exfoliate.Smith 1996 · Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Pairs worth knowing
Browse all 1238 ingredients — grouped by what they do, each with whatever evidence we can cite.
This page is public so a shared ingredient card always has its sources behind it — and so you can check them without an account.
Want more like this?
Every evidence-based flag cites its source, Drop tells you when your routine is complete, and it helps you simplify — instead of selling you more. The app launches on iOS and Android in October 2026. Rate my routine works today at /rate — no sign-in.