I’ve been using this Skinceuticals Retexturing Activator on and off for a year now, and honestly, for $95 I don’t think this is it. 
This is a serum, and as you can see in the image, it’s got PM written on it in sharpie because the place that sold it for me recommended it for the evening. I honestly really appreciated that they wrote that on there!
This serum is meant to exfoliate while replenishing your skin’s barrier. That’s pretty unusual for an exfoliating serum – if you’ve used any AHA like glycolic acid, you. know that it can be drying and you actually need to use something with it to protect your skin’s barrier. A compromised barrier will lead to dry, tight, overly sensitive skin, that sometimes looks bumpy, red, patchy, or even breaks out more. Stop everything you’re using if this happens to you!
Skinceuticals claims that the Retexturing Activator has the power of 20% glycolic acid. You can’t buy 20% glycolic over the counter, so this would be a peel that you would experience during a facial. It’s unclear whether cumulatively this has the effect of an acid peel, or with each treatment, but having had a peel and tried this for a month, I’m guessing that over time maybe this exfoliates as much as a peel would have. My skin definitely looked good when I continued to use this.
But I didn’t love using it. The texture is a little sticky and you definitely have to use moisturizer on top if you want to get rid of the stickiness. My skin also really loves the effects of glycolic acid. It’s oily and pretty touch so it can tolerate it well and it looks and feels so much smoother when I use the glycolic or any other acid. If you have dry skin, this would be for you, and if you’re looking for an alternative to glycolic acid, then you should see if this is for you.
