For your skin
A gentle alternative to acids. It uses enzymes to "eat" the glue holding dead skin cells together, leaving skin smooth without the stinging or redness of AHAs. Ideal for sensitive skin that needs surface smoothing without the downtime.
Want the science? Keep reading ↓Mechanism of action
Proteolytic enzyme that mimics the skin's natural desquamation process by selectively breaking down the corneodesmosomal proteins (desmoglein-1) that bind dead skin cells together. Unlike AHAs, it operates at physiological pH (5.5-7.0), meaning it can exfoliate without the acid-induced inflammation or barrier disruption.
Why we tier this moderate
2 cited papers across 1 country. The mechanism is well-described and there's at least one controlled trial in the literature, but we tier this Moderate rather than Strong to stay honest about how many specific papers we cite directly.
Cited research
James Q. Del Rosso, The Development of Protease Skin Care Formulations, Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology 2015;8(1):20-25
Smith WP et al., Topical proteolytic enzymes affect epidermal and dermal properties, International Journal of Cosmetic Science 2007;29(1):15-21
Sources: PubMed · KCI · J-Stage · CNKI · Wanfang · SFD · MFDS · Cochrane · SCCS · CIR. Every entry points to a specific document. See methodology for what each outcome label means.