Glycerin (glycerine) in skin care cosmetics

Glycerin (also referred to as glycerol) is a skin-friendly humectant which attracts water to the skin as well as a binding ingredient that occurs naturally in vegetable, as well as animal lipids.

Glycerin is used in the following of our products Purifying Face Mask with Tea Tree Cellumend cellulite cream

On this page

• Cosmetic benefits of glycerin
• Classification of glycerin as a cosmetic ingredient

Cosmetic benefits of glycerin

For cosmetic purposes it can either be produced artificially from propylene alcohol or naturally derived from vegetable oils.

It is a sweet, syrupy alcohol that has been used in cosmetics for hundreds of years as a solvent, plasticizer, humectant, emollient, and lubricant. Although still very often used, glycerin is being replaced more and more by its cheaper counterpart, sorbitol.

At one stage it was thought that glycerin could draw water out of the skin, instead of the other way round, but this idea has now been shown as unfounded.

What glycerin does do is help maintain the water balance in the intercellular matrix and in so doing it maintains the skin's homeostasis. It has also been suggested that glycerin found in this level helps other lipids to perform their work more effectively. ^{REF 42}

Classification of glycerin as a cosmetic ingredient

It is a polyhydric alcohol and is classed as a polyol. It is used as a fragrance ingredient, humectant, skin-conditioning agent, skin protectant and viscosity decreasing agent. It is also known as glycerine, glycerol, glycyl alcohol, as well as 1,2,3-Propanetriol and 1,2,3-Trihydroxypropane.

For clarification of the above, please click here.