Glycolic acid (hydroacetic acid or hydroxyacetic acid); chemical formula C2H4O3 (also written as HOCH2CO2H), is the smallest α-hydroxy acid (AHA). This colorless, odorless, and hygroscopic crystalline solid is highly soluble in water. It is used in various skin-care products. Glycolic acid is found in some sugar-crops. A glycolate is a salt or ester of glycolic acid. The name "glycolic acid" was coined in 1848 by the French chemist Auguste Laurent (1807–1853). He proposed that the amino acid glycine — which was then called glycocolle — might be the amine of a hypothetical acid, which he called "glycolic acid" (acide glycolique). When the team of Strecker and Sokolov finally produced glycolic acid in 1851, they bestowed, on their acid, the name of Laurent's hypothetical acid.

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