A chemical depilatory is a cosmetic preparation used to remove hair from the skin. Common active ingredients are salts of thioglycolic acid and thiolactic acids. These compounds break the disulfide bonds in keratin and also hydrolyze the hair so that it is easily removed. Formerly, sulfides such as strontium sulfide were used, but due to their unpleasant odor, they have been replaced by thiols. The main chemical reaction effected by the thioglycolate is: 2 HSCH2CO2H (thioglycolic acid) + R-S-S-R (cystine) → HO2CCH2-S-S-CH2CO2H (dithiodiglycolic acid) + 2 RSH (cysteine)