I’m not an alcoholic, but my skin is :p
When we talked about alcohol, most of us will only concern about alcoholic drinks, medicines or antiseptics. Alcohol drinks
As far as we concern, alcohols do present in many skin care products. Since long I’ve noticed that alcohol has been a despised ingredient in my skin care products. For all these while, I’ve been wondering how alcohol plays its role in skin care products and what is the effect on my skin. I did not try to find the answer out until I thought of writing this topic for my chemistry assignment (It must be a very interesting topic to be explored ^^).
Cosmetics
What Are Alcohols?
Alcohols are organic compounds that contain one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups bounded to carbon atoms. On ingredient labels, an alcohol usually ends with "ol" (ethanol, SD alcohol, panthenol). The solubility of alcohols in both water and oil determine their characteristic. The solubility of alcohol is influenced by the length of its carbon chain. Alcohol with short carbon chain tends to evaporate quickly, taking water with it. Meanwhile, alcohol with long carbon chain will hinder evaporation and hold water down. In some special cases, alcohols with short carbon chain that have unique chemical configuration will actually have great moisturizing effect instead of being harsh.
Alcohol
Say YES or NO to Alcohol?
Have a look on the list of ingredients on your skin care products. You will find the most common type of alcohols that present are ethyl alcohol, propylene glycol and SD-Alcohol 40. What are the different functions of different type of alcohols in skin care products? What are their effects? Are they beneficial for our skin? Many people have bad thoughts for alcohols in skin care products. Yes, some of them definitely bring more harms than good. In fact, alcohols that harm are only a small portion from the big family of alcohol. Alcohols in skin care products are classified into fatty alcohol and harsh alcohol. Harsh alcohol definitely harms while fatty alcohol is friendly.
Why NO to Alcohol?
As the name implies, harsh alcohols are definitely unfriendly and they are the alcohols that we should avoid when it comes to our skin care products. These types of alcohols that serve as antibacterial bring a negative effect to the skin. They cause skin to become extremely dry.Besides, the low molecular weight of harsh alcohols makes them evaporate quickly from the surface of the skin. When they evaporate, they tend to bring moisture away from the skin surface.
The harsh alcohols that we should concern are ethanol, ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and SD alcohol. Someone will surely wonder what a SD alcohol is? SD alcohol stands for specially denatured alcohol. Alcohols are denatured so that they are unsafe for consumption. Examples of SD alcohol are SD alcohol 23-A, SD alcohol 40 and SD Alcohol 4-B. These types of alcohols have the fewest number of carbon among the other type of alcohols which cause rapid evaporation. That is why skin becomes dry and irritated.
Examples of harsh alcohols:
Benzyl alcohol
Ethanol
Methanol
Why YES to Alcohol?
When a product is labelled ‘Alcohol Free’, it does not mean that the product does not contain any alcohol at all. It indicates that the product does not contain any of the harsh alcohols that harm the skin. Instead, the product itself contains fatty alcohols which have much different effects on the skin. Fatty alcohols which are friendly help to enhance the moisturizing effect of a product and act as humectants( substances that hold moistures). Examples of fatty alcohols that help skin care formulation to act as efficient skin care products are:
Fatty alcohol
Examples of fatty alcohols that help skin care formulation to act as efficient skin care products are:
Cetyl Alcohol
Cetyl alcohol is derived from coconut oil. It acts as an effective emollient (substances that make the skin soft) in skin care products and stabilizes skin care formulations. Cetyl alcohol in skin care products has an ability to hold moisture by forming a layer of protective barrier on the skin to prevent water loss from the skin surface. Cetyl alcohol are often included in hand creams, lotions, foundations, lipsticks and mascaras.
Cetyl alcohol
Molecular formula: CH3(CH2)15OH
Stearyl Alcohol
Like cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol is also extracted from coconut oil. Being an emollient, stearyl alcohol is also an emulsifier. Steary alcohol works like cetyl alcohol in skin formulations. Products that contain stearyl alcohol include creams, lubricants, depilatories and conditioners.
Stearyl alcohol
Molecular Formula C18H38O other name:O
Cetearyl Alcohol
Cetearyl alcohol which is derived from natural oils and fats, acts as an emulsifying wax to soften thick formulas like skin oilments. As an emollient, cetearyl alcohol brings great effect in stabilizing skin care formulations. Cetearyl alcohol can be found in water-in-oil emulsions, oil-in-water emulsions, anhydrous formulations, cleansers, permanent hair color, face creams, eye make-up and sunblocks.
Cetearyl alcohol
Molecular Formula:C16H34O
Lanolin Alcohol
Lanolin alcohol is derived from the sebaceous glands of sheep’s wool. Therefore, it causes allergy and sensitivity on skin. However, the usage of lanolin alcohol in the right amount will be an excellent emollient. Lanolin alcohol is widely used in moisturizers, sunscreen, shaving creams and cosmetics.
Lanolin alcohol
Tocopherol Tocopherol is an excellent emollient that gives a great moisturizing effect to the skin. Besides, it acts as an antioxidant too.
Tocopherol
Alcohol..Love it or hate it?
As mentioned earlier, not all alcohols are harmful. So, be smart when choosing the right skin care products. Read the LABELS! It’s time to make friends with fatty alcohols and avoid harsh alcohols.
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