Good And Bad Alcohols In Skincare
What are good alcohols.
Good and bad alcohols in skincare. Fatty alcohol which is derived from coconut or palm oil is sometimes used to thicken a formulation and can be nourishing for the skin says maryam zamani md ethanol is a well known topical penetration enhancer which means it can be used to increase the transdermal. There are several types of alcohol that can make your skin dry and even trigger irritation on your hiar mouth and even your skin when used. Common harmless alcohols include cetyl alcohol cetearyl alcohol lauryl alcohol and stearyl alcohol among others. Others though are crucial to completing the product.
The bad alcohol in skincare. That s because fatty alcohols are derived from waxes and oils and are actually nourishing for the skin and are used as emulsifiers in products. So there you have it. Here is a quick reference guide to take when shopping.
Let s start on a good note to bust the myth all alcohols are bad. Some alcohols are included with good intentions but can bring negative results. The good alcohol in skincare. Alcohols like ethanol isopropyl alcohol alcohol denat and methanol are used to make creams feel lighter help other ingredients to penetrate your skin and as a preservative.
I hope we cleared up a little bit of the misunderstanding alcohols have in skincare. They even moisturize skin because of the natural fatty acid content. Thicken and keep them together and preserve ingredients. Fortunately identifying which alcohols are good and bad for you will help you choose your products wisely.
Examples of fatty alcohols are cetyl catearyl stearyl myristyl and lauryl alcohol as well as propylene glycol all of which either. There is the good and the bad. Learn more about the good and not so good alcohol in skincare for the next time you re reading a label. Fatty alcohols are thicker and used to emulsify products a k a.
On the surface that all sounds ok but there is a downside. If you search alcohol in skincare online you ll find many websites demonizing alcohol as something bad for your skin while others praise alcohol as something beneficial for many skincare issues e g oily skin. Here s a breakdown of the alcohols that are good and bad for your skin. Make sure you know which ones your putting on your skin.
Before we out the bad alcohols let s understand how to differentiate the bad from the good. If simple alcohols dry out your skin fatty alcohols do the exact opposite. Below is a list of astringent alcohols frequently used in skincare products. Alcohol based moisturisers serums and toners might not seem that bad for skin and there s no shortage of debate on the topic.
Fatty alcohols are derived from vegetables and look completely different from the bad alcohols. Alcohol and its by products is definitely one of the most common ingredients found in skincare formulas today and perhaps one of the most controversial ones.