The issue is to provide an external preparation for skin, which is excellent in effects of improvement of skin texture, a somber color on the skin, and acne, inherent to chemical peeling, and which is easy to wash away while having a moderate viscosity free from dripping, is easy to apply to the skin, is of low irritation, and is excellent in safety. The external preparation for skin comprises ingredients (a), (b), and (c) and has a pH value of 2.0 to 5.0: (a) 1.0 to 7.0 mass% of at least one of the members selected from the group consisting of α-hydroxy acids, (b) 0.1 to 3.0 mass% of a crosslinked type N,N-dimethylacrylamide-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid sodium salt copolymer, and (c) 0.1 to 3.0 mass% of an associating thickener, such as a polyethylene glycol-240/decyltetradeceth-20/hexamethylene diisocyanate copolymer.
