The good and the bad alcohol in skincare products

Although many look critically on alcohol in cosmetic products, it is actually an important ingredient and not at all as harmful as you might think. The claim that alcohol dries out and irritates skin can be found all over the web. But is this claim always correct?

Alcohol describes a whole group of fluids. When we talk about alcohol, we mostly mean Ethanol C2H5OK, which is produced by the fermentation of biomass containing sugar or starch.

The most important use of alcohol in medicinal, as well as in cosmetic products, is that it can kill bacteria. By extension, it can be used as a preservative and prevents our ointments and lotions from going bad. It also has an active anti-inflammatory or deodorizing effect. Often it takes just an extract of diluted alcohol to emulsify many valuable, often water-insoluble ingredients from parts of plants. Alcohol can therefore also be used as a solvent.

Enough is enough

If there is too much alcohol in care products, already dry skin can react to it: Alcohol is a fat solvent, meaning that the natural layer of sebum on the skin gets destroyed. This will leave your skin dryer than before. However, the use of alcohol in a cosmetic product is generally not a problem if the alcohol content remains below 5% , as the alcohol mostly evaporates the moment the cream is applied.
This is also the case with perfume, where the odourant molecules are only set free when evaporation occurs. Chemical preservatives like paragons, on the other hand, remain on the skin all day and disturb the pH level of the skin in the long term. Quick evaporation produces a cooling effect, which explains why most after-sun products contain alcohol.

Creams usually do not contain alcohol meant for oral consumption. Instead, a denatured substance (INCI: alcohol denat) is used, which is often mixed with plasticizers. This kind of alcohol is very bad for the skin and one gets terribly sick when drinking it. Some brands use a better variant, called Ethanol. This alcohol is drinkable. An even better and more skin-friendly variant is certified organic, drinkable alcohol, which usually comes from the distillation of organic grains or organic grapes. In addition, pure bio-alcohol does not cause allergies, whereas denatured alcohol (in which chemicals are added) might: they have the bad reputation of triggering allergies, so read the label of your cosmetic product well.

What is fatty alcohol?

Fatty or wax alcohols (lauryl, cetearyl and cetyl alcohol which frequently appear on the INCI list) can also be found in cosmetic products. They should definitely not be confused with the simple ethyl alcohols and are generally well tolerated. These fatty alcohols are obtained from fatty acids in plants. Especially vegetable glycerin, which is processed in skincare products. Fatty alcohol from coconuts is particularly nurturing and despite its original claim, is extremely moisturising.

Alcohol should not be applied to open wounds (or mucous membranes). So it is better to steer clear of facial washes containing alcohol, if a spot has already been picked at. Even in medicine iodine is used to disinfect open wounds, not alcohol. Anything else burns like hell and harms the wound as well.

Not all alcohols lead to Rome

In conclusion: Not all alcohol is the same. It is always worth checking the list of ingredients. If alcohol is already the second item on the list, and you have very sensitive skin, switch to another product if possible. Otherwise keep this in mind: denatured alcohol should be avoided, but organic alcohol in moderation isn’t that bad after all.

Sources:

http://www.dermaviduals.de/deutsch/publikationen/inhaltsstoffe/vielfaeltig-im-einsatz-alkohole-in-hautpflegemitteln.html

http://www.olionatura.de/_rohstoffe/?id=23

*Translated to English by Rosalee Edwards