Glycerol, glycerine or glycerin

Glycerin, it’s like the less trendy version of Hyaluronic Acid. There’s a high chance your already using it; just have a look at your product ingredients. 

A powerful hydrator that deserves more credit, nowadays there is no need to seek out glycerin-based products, not like you would with a vitamin C focused product. Glycerin is more of an ingredient that formulators use for the base of products, most often the second or third ingredient after water.

What is Glycerin? 

Today glycerin is derived from vegetables, though historically, it was made from animal and fossil origins. Its form is colourless, odourless and a bit of syrupy liquid. 

Glycerin is a humectant which means it grabs onto the water; it helps to hydrate and pulls moisture from the air and from the deep layers of the skin to help plump up the top layers. It sounds similar to uber-popular Hyaluronic Acid right, told you. 

Glycerin has a small molecular weight; it’s able to get in between the skin cells to really work at hydrating deeply and not just sitting on the top layers of skin.  

It’s also naturally present in our body, mimicking the skin’s natural moisturising factor making up a strong skin barrier.  

Benefits of Glycerin for the skin. 

Again glycerin’s benefits are similar to hyaluronic acid, adding hydration to skin layers, which help reduce the look of fine lines. 

Having happy, hydrated skin in return helps the skin’s barrier and reduces irritation from other ingredients in formulas. 

Super helpful with dry skin conditions like psoriasis and dermatitis. It can be beneficial to elevate the dry, flaky skin and strengthen the barrier to heal these skin conditions. 

DIY Glycerin

The texture is not so lovely on its own, almost like honey. It can be drying if not appropriately formulated because it pulls water out of the skin as it evaporates. It is best to be left to a cosmetic chemist to formulate it with an occlusive (an ingredient forming a protective layer) style ingredient.

Safety of Glycerin

Glycerin is a highly safe ingredient with no known side effects. It’s extremely rare with Glycerin, but people can become allergic as with everything, even water. 

Glycerin Products

You will find glycerin in products like essences, toners, moisturises, hyaluronic acid serums and face mists. So keep an eye out when you next purchase something.

So what you do think of glycerin? It’s a helpful little guy right; it’s never really had the spotlight until now. 

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