When talking about alcohol on skin, it’s not about the usual beverage such as vodka, and the like. It’s more on the alcohol ingredients such as denatured alcohol, glycol, lauryl alcohol, and isopropyl alcohol just to name a few. Although there are some alcohols that are good for your skin, there are those that can be harmful when used all the time. As much as we want to avoid these ingredients, most skin care products that are being sold today make use of them all the time. Fortunately, identifying which alcohols are good and bad for you will help you choose your products wisely. Here’s a breakdown of the alcohols that are good and bad for your skin.
Bad Alcohols
There are several types of alcohol that can make your skin dry and even trigger irritation on your hiar, mouth, and even your skin when used. One example of this is hand sanitizer which we all use. These alcohols are mostly incorporated into quick drying products such as toners, mouthwashes, hairsprays, water creams, and even aloe vera gels. They are also used as preservatives because of their ability to fight off germs. Although this doesn’t sound bad at all, they do make your skin dry which is the opposite of what you are trying to do. What’s more, when you have dry skin, your risk of breaking out in acne and other skin blemishes is high. So which alcohols belong in this group? Here are a few that you should take note of.
Alcohol
Ethanol
Denature Alcohol
Methanol
Isopropyl Alcohol
SD Alcohol 40
Fatty Alcohols
These alcohols are also referred to as the good alcohols since they are actually good for the skin. These alcohols are typically used in creams as well as moisturizers because they have thickening as well as hydrating properties. What’s more, these alcohols are actually good for combining water and oil to create emulsions. These alcohols are often extracted from palm, coconut, and other natural oils which are packed with essential fatty acids. A word of caution though, even though these alcohols are ideal for the skin, they may still cause irritation on those who have sensitive skin. If you tend to break out even when you are using these alcohols, it is better that you look for skin care products that are completely alcohol-free. Here is a list of all the good alcohols that you can use on your skin.
Glycol
Cetyl Alcohol
Lauryl Alcohol
Myristyl Alcohol
Cetearyl Alcohol
Stearyl Alcohol
C12-16
Propanediol and Butylene Glycol may not be considered as fatty alcohol but they can still draw water to your skin which makes them good types of alcohol.
Alcohol Damages Skin
Those who have oily skin often use skin care products that are alcohol-based to remove that oil slick that they have to deal with all the time. Can’t you see the irony of having to use oil based skin care products to deal with oily skin? The problem with this method is that you are actually damaging your skin further which can lead to enlarged pores as well as numerous bumps appearing on your skin. This is because alcohol can make your skin condition worsen. This is why skin care experts recommend that you stay away from products that are alcohol-based and stick with organic or natural ingredients as much as possible to have beautiful skin all the time.
