glycolic acid is a chemical that's designed to make your skin cells less sticky so that they slough off. glycolic acid in its pure form when its not buffered its a strong acid and if you put it on the skin and don't neutralize it it will keep working and eventually burn your skin as a chemical burn. over-the-counter glycolic acid are buffered. they are somewhat neutralized so that they are less likely to create a chemical or too strong a chemical reaction in your skin. so the ones that you get from your doctor would be stronger. the doctor will watch the treatment and then neutralize it at the appropriate time for you to have the desired benefit. if you are going to do one from over-the-counter it has to be a milder form of it in order to have that benefit without the risk.
i’ve seen those glycolic peels advertised in magazines. can't i just buy the stuff from the internet and save money?