Glycerin: soften skin but maybe drying?
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
I was quite surprised to see the following comment from Betty Brock in one of my entries concerning the usage of body lotion. In the comment, she stated that body lotion shouldn’t be used as a hand cream as it isn’t rich enough. In addition, she wrote something about avoiding glycerin as a key ingredient in hand creams.
…stay away from hand creams that contain too much glycerin. All they do is put an invisible glove on your hand. If you want to moisturize your hands, buy a cream that can actually penetrate the skin. Anything under $5 is junk.
Actually, I’ve come across some similar comments regarding this ingredient. Apparently, it is said that too much glycerin in a formula tends to irritate some people, causing their skin to become drier or causing them to break out. I can’t say for sure as I do not have similar experience. Moreoever, glycerin is a common ingredient used in skin care products as a humectant and as an emollient to soften and soothe skin.
What is glycerin?
In Paula Begeoun’s Ingredient Dictionary, glycerin is called glycerol or glycerine as well and is present in all natural lipids (fats), whether animal or vegetable.
It can be derived from natural substances by hydrolysis of fats and by fermentation of sugars. It can also be synthetically manufactured. Whether natural or synthetic, glycerin is a humectant and extremely hygroscopic, meaning it readily absorbs water from other sources. So, in part, glycerin works because of its ability to attract water from the environment and from the lower layers of skin (dermis) increasing the amount of water in the surface layers of skin. Another aspect of glycerin’s benefit is that it is a skin-identical ingredient, meaning it is a substance found naturally in skin. In that respect it is one of the many substances in skin that help maintain the outer barrier and prevent dryness or scaling.
However, Paula also mentioned that high levels of glycerin has no proven increased benefit for skin. In fact, pure glycerin (100% concentration) on skin is not helpful and can actually be drying, causing blisters if left on too long as they can increase water loss by attracting water from the lower layers of skin (dermis) into the surface layers of skin (epidermis) where the water can easily be lost into the environment.
What is it used in?
Personally, I’m not fond of glycerin and I used to hate to use it in my DIY vitamin C serum. However, I know many believe that soaps made with glycerin are beneficial for our skin and hence, would disagree that it’s drying or that it forms an invisible coat on the skin. Whilst I do not find it problematic and do not mind it in general, I do not find it particularly beneficial as a key ingredient. So going forward, I’ll probably keep a lookout for it. If a product is expensive and glycerin appears as one of the top 5 ingredients, I’ll probably think twice about buying it.
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Posted in Ingredients101 | 38 Comments »
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January 20th, 2010 at 9:52 am
I would have to disagree…I use pure glycerin and it has helped my skin greatly especially with pure lemon juice and my mom swears by it and uses it all over her body. I haven’t seen my skin get dry I wish..since I have oily skin….so I don’t know…
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 10:06 am
You use pure glycerin with pure lemon juice? Woah…very potent combination! Vegetable grade I suppose?
I think there are different views regarding glycerin and it might have to do with skin types as well. I never gave much thoughts to it but personally don’t like using it in DIY formulations. I think it’s the feel I dislike. But I would mind it if the product is expensive and has a lot of this. It’s quite cheap to get as an ingredient.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:11 am
I have glycerin in my toner but I suppose that should be okay right? because I have pretty oily skin ((: but if i am not wrong usually i am still told to moisturize properly
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Should be okay since it’s unlikely to be the first few. It’s probably there to also act as a stablizer/preservative. Most products would have glycerin.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:42 am
I have heard the saying that hand creams just form a cover on the hand. Slowly the skin will die and then become dry. Subsequently need to put more hand cream to moisturize it. Not sure if its true.
In addition, I heard that SK II has got yeast ingredient in it and it will just “eat up” the old skin and renew the skin. Sounds terrifying to me.
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
I remember you writing this before…but the one about SK-II sounds scary. Yikes…
January 20th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
I do agree that concentrated amount of glycerin is not good for the skin. I’ve tried applying pure glycerin onto my face before just to see what happens and the face looked watery while my skin looked wrinkly. it was quite bizarre
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Wow, you’re so brave! I hope it was just a small patch you tried on. Don’t do it again.
January 20th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
I am surprise to know glycerin can be drying (thanks for the info), it is a humectant that commonly existed in our daily skin care routine, of cause it is low-cost too. I read before about hyaluronic acid (or sodium hyaluronate) is also functioning by attracting water from environment. If the environment is not humid enough, then it will absord water from dermis in order to keep the skin hydrated. I didn’t rely on single ingredient since we might need both oil and water moisturizing agents in less humid environment/for dry skin. From my experience in dry weather, even a heavy pure oil product can be drying after few hours, that’s why I am not avoiding synthetic ingredients like silicone, carbomer… etc.
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
It seems glycerin works the same way and the humidity plays a big role too. Anyway, I just don’t want to pay a lot for a product that uses glycerin as a key ingredient. Don’t find it does much.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
hi sesame! i realised i havent been receiving your email updates since the start of the year! is there something wrong? i dont know of anything i can do from my side…
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Oh dear…I’ve been told by a few other readers too. Not sure what went wrong. Anyway, I’ve unsubscribed your email and then re-subscribed again. Can you verify the confirmation at your end? I hope that’ll solve the problem.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
I think I have the ingredient in one of my product but too lazy to see which one. Hopefully it won’t ruin my skin in the long run!
I’ve heard about the SK2 thingy about the yeast too. I used FTE once in a while, just for the sake of finishing it. But from some experiences I’ve heard, it sounded scary!
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
I think it’s okay. Glycerin won’t ruin your skin. Just that it’s not useful if the content is too much.
I stay off SKII. I tried it when it was first launched and find their products over-rated. But my hairstylist swear by the Pitera lotion.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
hi
may i know what hand creams you are using now?
My facial skin is oily but my body and especially my hands are very dry. I once went for a full body massage and the masseuse had to keeping applying oil as my skin was soaking it up like a sponge.
I’m still looking for good affordable natural and/or organic skin lotions and hand creams. For body I’m using Rosken dry skin cream for now.
For hand creams, I have tried neutrogena norwegian forumla, Yuskin A, 100% Pure Organic Hand Cream. and some other brands available at watsons or guardian. the latest one I’ve tried from Bud Cosmetics is the Super Soothing Rescue Lotion which is good, but very expensive considering I can go through a 50ml tube @$22 in roughly 2 weeks. (I usually have to apply hand cream at least 2-3 times in an hour.)
some of the organic or natural ones i’ve tried, e.g. the 100% Pure Hand Creams, tend not to be able to penetrate into the skin well, leaving the skin shiny but dry and uncomfortable.
sorry for the ranting, but do you have something to recommend for someone with eczema prone sensitive skin who needs a good cheap hand cream?
(btw i know rosken’s not a natural brand, but I can’t find something else that works without an irritating smell.)
sesame Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
The one I tried that is cheap and effective was Lavera Basis Sensitive. The small tube was going for $5 at Watsons and the bigger one was $19 I think. However, I don’t seem to see it anymore. You can check my review here:
http://www.vivawoman.net/2008/08/25/review-lavera-basis-sensitiv-handcreme/
The other one I like is L’Occitane Shea Butter hand cream. Very nice but it’s also very ex at $42 and so I use it only sparingly before bedtime.
sesame Reply:
January 26th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Hey, I just remember I’ve tried this product Skin MD Natural and it’s not bad…seems to be created for those with dry hands or skin problems. I saw it at Guardian if I am not wrong. I reviewed it long ago here:
http://www.vivawoman.net/2007/01/16/skin-md-natural-shielding-lotion/
January 20th, 2010 at 10:44 pm
i never really read the ingredient on my face cream…maybe i should start doing that….i never suffer from dry skin & i always use 3 or 4 different product all the time…i’m at the stage i’m not sure which one is working for me anymore…haha…but i’m suffering from blackhead on the nose & tzone area…any suggestion? i tried so many products….nothing seem to be working….
sesame Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 9:54 am
Why do you use so many products? If it’s just skincare, just limit to 2. A serum and a moisturizer. In the daytime, you can add a sunscreen or use a moisturizer with SPF.
Do you exfoliate your skin? That could help clear some of your blackheads.
January 20th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Recommendation for a cheap hand cream for those with eczema: try Aqurea moisturizing cream from Guardian (usually put near the eczema products shelves). It is not natural. However, it penetrates the skin without being greasy/oily. I must admit I’ve tried a lot of natural creams – based on oils and butters, but the oils and butters just sit on the surface of my skin without penetrating. I find Aqurea to be cheap and effective. The active ingredient is 10% urea. It’s worth a try and if it doesn’t work for your hands, it’s also a good foot cream (for cracked heels).
January 20th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Regarding glycerin, I have formulated with glycerin, but I find it sticky and I don’t like the feel of it on my skin. I keep the percentage as low as possible (5% or less).
sesame Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 9:55 am
Yup, I think that’s also the same reason why I don’t like the feel of it. I always cut down the % whenever possible.
January 21st, 2010 at 4:35 am
I use glycerin for foiling sometimes, but I only use a real tiny bit. I hear it can cause blisters if you use it directly by itself – especially around the mouth. Scary.
sesame Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 9:55 am
What is foiling?
January 21st, 2010 at 10:27 am
hi sesame,
i’ve not been receiving the email updates too.. please check mine too! thanks =)
sesame Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Seems that something is not working. I tried subscribing and didn’t receive any updates. I need to check with Feedburner about this. Meantime, you may have to come visit the site directly. Sorry about that.
January 21st, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I’m a little late to this entry, but just wanted to chime in with my 2 cents – just like you mentioned in your entry, I remember glycerin soaps used to be the holy grail for clear skin at one time, when the older folks would stock up on Pears soap, so I too was intrigued when I first read that glycerin might actually contribute to dry skin conditions. However, the following entry in Afrobella’s blog regarding winter hair care cleared up the issue about humectants and moisturising care
http://www.afrobella.com/2009/10/27/winter-hair-care-advice-from-curly-nikki/
So perhaps it also depends on the season in which we use glycerin as a moisturising agent – maybe this dry, biting weather in Singapore this year is not the best time to whip out the glycerin enriched creams.
sesame Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Interesting. It has to do with the humidity isn’t it? So season definitely plays a role.
January 21st, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Hey, just wanted to ask which code do you use for Related posts. Can you suggest me any?
Swathy
sesame Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 10:58 pm
You mean the plugin? I use Similar Posts:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/similar-posts/
You’ll need to install the Post-Plugin Library too.
January 21st, 2010 at 5:16 pm
hm i have always been wary of formulations with high amountd of glycerine. one reason being i know that it can cause alot of white heads.
and secondly i did not like the idea of paying so much when the main ingredient glycerine is so cheap.
my search for the product with the PERFECT formulation has been very tough. while some may not have glycerin, they often contain some other comedogenic humectant =/
sesame Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 11:00 pm
It’s hard to find the perfect formulation. Either they’re imperfect or they’re too ex. But I think I’m happy with my current sunscreen formulation. It’s almost perfect to me.
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Oh yes, I agree with TheUndercoverGypsy.
The glycerin needs to absorb moisture from the air.
Singapore is so dry now. I’m in Bangkok. Its slightly better. But I’m still breaking out. I hope to go back soon and do facial extraction plus the weather gets humid soon. Else my pores are gonna get so big, dirt and oil gets trapped in them.
sesame Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Bangkok is pretty polluted isn’t it? But seems like you’re not the only one complaining about dry skin. Another local reader said the same thing as you.
January 23rd, 2010 at 10:03 am
I disagree.. as a kid I had the worst scaliest of dry skins on my legs and the only way it was cured was after a friend recommended to my mum that I apply a mix of glycerin and rose water (50:50). No other oils (olive included), cream, lotions ever worked, so I sort of swear by it. But that’s when I lived in Bangalore (drier place). In Singapore, a body lotion seems to work fine.
sesame Reply:
January 23rd, 2010 at 7:42 pm
There’s some controversy over the ingredient…I guess it just depends on users. Maybe the skin type or maybe the weather.
Personally, I don’t like glycerin too much but don’t have an issue with it except I won’t want to be fooled into purchasing an expensive product with lots of this stuff. It’s so cheap when we use it DIY.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Hi, I was just looking around your site and came upon this post, I wanted to chime in a bit on glycerin. I have also used a 50/50 mix of glycerin and rose water (or other hydrosol) as a facial moisturizer for a couple of years now and it has served me very well. I do understand your problem with stickiness because I have tried using the same formulation on my body instead of lotion and I did not like the feeling. But my face seems to absorb it fairly quickly so this does not present a problem. Thanks!
sesame Reply:
March 5th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
That’s great. I have some telling me that they use the same formulation and it worked wonders for them too.