alpha-hydroxy acid
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Related to alpha-hydroxy acid: lactic acid
al·pha-hy·drox·y acid
(ăl′fə-hī-drŏk′sē)n. Abbr. AHA
Any of various acids, such as citric acid or glycolic acid, that contain a hydroxyl group adjacent to the carboxyl group and are often used in exfoliants and other cosmetics.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
alpha-hydroxy acid
n
(Chemistry) a type of organic acid, commonly used in skin-care preparations, that has a hydroxyl group attached to the carbon atom next to the carbon atom carrying the carboxyl group
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014