Glycerin is used in many skin and hair care products. It is an effective emollient that has a cooling effect on the skin. It is added to cosmetics to give softness (moisturizing) and shine. Recent studies have even reported that glycerin helps restore and renew skin cells.
Glycerin is very hygroscopic and easily adsorbs water from the air. If the vial of pure glycerin is left open, it will absorb a significant amount of water from the air.
Despite the fact that glycerin is a by-product in the manufacture of soap, in its composition it can be found in large quantities only in expensive varieties of soap, including special glycerin soap, where it helps keep moisture on the skin, as well as improves cleansing properties soap. Cosmetic formulations with 20-25% glycerol are used to treat dry skin. It is worth noting that even the use of 20% glycerol solutions on dry, sensitive skin showed no signs of irritation, therefore, glycerin soaps are often used by people with sensitive skin.
Glycerin can dissolve a lot of oils and herbal essences. Because it can often be found in cosmetics for hair and skin in small quantities, as a solvent. Also, this component is a good dispersing agent for pigments and is widely used in makeup cosmetics.
In the formulations of cosmetics, its amount is limited, since an excess of glycerol can lead to the stickiness of creams, lotions and other cosmetics. Therefore, it is used in seven with other substances of similar properties, for example, sorbitol.
Glycerin is widely used in cosmetics for hair, especially it is often used to care for dry, brittle and curly hair. As an effective moisture-retaining agent glycerin applied to moisturized hair, prevents their excessive drying. Hair after its application is soft and elastic. No less effective, it helps fill dry scalp with moisture. When using drugs with a high content of glycerin on oily scalp and hair prone to fat, it can exacerbate the effect of “greasy” hair.
Glycerin, like many other water-retaining components, may not be controlled when used in very dry or very humid climates. In very dry weather, it can absorb moisture from skin and hair and dry them too much. While in very wet weather, it will unnecessarily moisturize the hair, leading to excessive fluffiness. For this reason, in the formulations of cosmetic preparations, glycerin is usually combined with other moisturizing and emollient substances, including oils. This helps avoid unwanted effects.
Glycerin (Glycerin) in cosmetics helps to reduce the viscosity of the final product, as well as reduce the freezing temperature. This allows you to transport cosmetics even in the winter at low temperatures, without fear of freezing. This is especially true of cosmetic products with a high water content: shampoos , lotions.
