7.2 Chemical Exfoliation: AHAs, BHAs, Enzymes, pH, and Scope Limits

The 3.5 pH Kit Floor Is Not a Medical Peel Law

Georgia students and apprentices meet acids first as kit items. Rule 240-16-.01 requires each esthetician student kit to include acids (3.5 pH or above). Rule 240-5-.01 requires the esthetics apprentice kit to include acids, one or more of the following approved peels at 3.5 pH or above: glycolic, salicylic (the rule's beta peel), mandelic, citric, lactic, and azelaic.

That number is a school- and apprentice-kit specification. It tells instructors what acidity belongs in the training kit. It is not a published medical-board peel-depth chart, not a statewide percentage cap for every spa peel, and not a license to perform dermatologic surgery. Licensed practice is still bounded by O.C.G.A. § 43-10-1(8)—no diagnosis, treatment, or therapy of dermatological conditions; no medical aesthetics; no lasers—and by intact, healthy skin rules in Chapter 240-4.

pH trap: 3.5 pH or above means pH 3.5 and higher numbers (3.5, 3.8, 4.0). On the pH scale, a higher pH is less acidic. A student who stocks a pH 2.0 glycolic in the kit has gone below the floor (more acidic), not above 3.5 in everyday strength talk. PSI-style items love that inversion.

Domain 3 Skin Care Safety still expects you to run chemical exfoliation as a controlled cosmetic step: right agent, right skin, right dwell, right stop. Independent study material covers those procedures because Georgia candidates are tested on them; it does not rewrite Board rules into unpublished medical numbers.

How chemical exfoliation works

Acids reduce cohesion between corneocytes so the outer stratum corneum sheds more evenly. Enzymes digest keratin proteins. Either way you are thinning a dead surface layer on healthy skin. You are not authorized to treat a diagnosed dermatologic disease with a peel, and you must not market a spa acid as laser resurfacing.

AHAs (water-soluble) versus BHA (lipid-soluble)

Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) such as glycolic (smallest common AHA, associated with sugar cane) and lactic (larger than glycolic, also a humectant) are water-soluble. They work across the hydrated surface of the stratum corneum. Glycolic often feels faster because of small molecular size. Lactic is frequently chosen when you want a gentler feel plus water-binding. Mandelic (from bitter almonds) is a larger AHA and typically slower. Citric is on the Georgia apprentice list as an AHA used in some peels and as a pH adjuster.

Beta hydroxy acid (BHA): Salicylic acid is lipid-soluble. It can move into sebum-filled follicles, which is why textbooks pair it with oily, congested, non-inflamed comedonal patterns. The apprentice rule even tags it as a beta peel. Because it is related to aspirin, salicylate or aspirin allergy is a hard stop. White film after some salicylic products is often crystal precipitation on the surface (sometimes called pseudo-frost) that wipes away. That is not the same as medical protein-coagulation frosting from physician-depth peels, and you should not chase frosting as a spa trophy.

Azelaic acid is on the apprentice list. Cosmetic formulas use it for uneven tone and breakout-prone patterns. Still treat it as a kit acid at 3.5 pH or above, not as a prescription-drug protocol you invent at the bowl.

Enzymes

Papain (papaya), bromelain (pineapple), and similar proteases loosen keratin so dead cells release with massage or rinse. Enzyme masks are a common gentle chemical step when grit, rotary brushes, or low-pH timed peels are the wrong match. They still require intact skin. Skip active infection, open lesions, and a client who is already over-exfoliated. Dwell, then rinse as labeled. Do not leave an enzyme on overnight because a social-media reel said to.

Neutralizing versus self-neutralizing

Timed AHAs, especially glycolic and often lactic: activity continues until you stop it. Manufacturers supply a neutralizer (commonly a mild alkaline such as sodium bicarbonate solution) and/or instruct a copious water rinse. Watch the clock and the skin. Even, mild pink is a common cosmetic endpoint. Hotspots, blanching, or severe sting mean you stop that zone immediately—do not wait for the timer out of stubbornness. Neutralizing an AHA because the protocol says to is part of the procedure, not optional extra hospitality.

Self-neutralizing agents (classic teaching for many salicylic systems): the product is designed to halt itself as the vehicle evaporates or as the acid finishes its intended surface action. Flooding these with a bicarbonate splash to be safe can be the wrong move if the manufacturer says do not neutralize. Follow the instructions for use, not booth folklore.

Exam habit: the question is rarely which acid sounds fancy. It is whether you neutralize a timed glycolic and whether you leave a self-neutralizing salicylic alone when the label says so.

Safe cosmetic sequence

1. Health history: oral isotretinoin, herpes, aspirin allergy, pregnancy, recent waxing or abrasion/resurfacing performed elsewhere, photosensitizing drugs, keloid history.
2. Cleanse. Degrease only if the protocol requires it.
3. Protect eyes. A thin petrolatum dam at the corners of the eyes, nostrils, and lips if pooling is a risk.
4. Apply in a planned map (forehead, cheeks, chin, nose) with a brush or gauze—no drips into eyes.
5. Time and watch. Do not leave the room.
6. Neutralize or rinse exactly as labeled.
7. Cool, hydrate, SPF. Do not finish a peel with a rotary brush or a granular scrub.

Pregnancy and lactation are not an invitation to improvise a medical decision. If labeling or health history raises doubt, defer aggressive chemical exfoliation and refer the client to their clinician. Georgia has not published a special pregnancy-peel statute for you to recite; product labels and intact-skin judgment still control.

Scope: what Georgia actually published

Internet charts quote peel percentages, millimeter depths, or a spa-wide pH cap as if they were Georgia Board medical rules. Do not memorize unpublished numbers as law. What you can cite:

• Kit floor: acids 3.5 pH or above in the student kit (240-16-.01) and the named apprentice peel list at 3.5 pH or above (240-5-.01).
• Statute: esthetics practices shall not include diagnosis, treatment, or therapy of any dermatological condition, medical aesthetics, or the use of lasers (O.C.G.A. § 43-10-1(8)).
• Facility: services on intact, healthy skin; banned razor-type layer-removing implements (Chapter 240-4).

A client who wants a medium or deep medical peel, a peel sold to treat a diagnosed condition, or a laser add-on is asking for care outside this license. Refer. Cosmetic, superficial chemical exfoliation on healthy skin, using products as labeled, is the Domain 3.C lane.

Georgia spa scenarios

A student in a Macon school wants to make the kit glycolic actually peel by mixing it with a pH 1.5 hobby acid from the internet. That violates the kit floor, ignores manufacturer controls, and is how chemical burns happen. Use only school-supplied acids that meet 3.5 pH or above, follow the IFU, and keep medical-depth peeling in a medical practice.

A client in Alpharetta asks for a medical-grade acid to treat a dermatologist-diagnosed condition, or for laser resurfacing in the same facial. Even if advanced textbooks discuss stronger acids, treating a dermatological condition and using lasers are statutory exclusions from the esthetician definition. Decline, do not argue invented percentages, document, and refer. An esthetician license is not a laser practitioner credential; Georgia regulates cosmetic laser services under a separate medical-board framework.

Aftercare

Flaking can last days. No picking. No other exfoliants. Strict sun avoidance plus SPF. Pause intense heat (hot yoga, steam rooms) for a day or two. Return if blistering, pus, or spreading redness appears. You are not the prescriber for antivirals or antibiotics. If a peel unmasks a herpetic outbreak, stop further exfoliation and send the client to a clinician.