You're currently on:

• Home
• /
• Natural Glycerin

Natural Glycerin for Natural Skin Care

Glycerin is an emollient:  a substance that helps to maintain moisture levels in your skin.  If your skin is allowed to dry out, it becomes wrinkled and prematurely aged. You can see the effect on white-skinned people that live in hot climates.

It is one of those natural substances that has synthetic equivalents, or at least synthetic chemicals that claim to do the same job as glycerin.  However, it is always better to use natural products wherever possible, since many people can be allergic to synthetic chemicals. So, what exactly is glycerin and where does it come from?

Chemically, it is an alcohol, in the form of a thick liquid that is soluble in other alcohols and water – ideal for skin care products. It is also what is known as ‘hygroscopic’ – it absorbs moisture, and if left alone would absorb up to 20% of its weight of water. That’s how it keeps your skin wonderfully moist, although there is a debate as to whether or not there could also be some other mechanism at work that is not fully understood.

It is sufficient to know that it moisturizes your skin, without having to know exactly how it does that. It is derived from oils of many types:  vegetable oils such as palm kernel oil and coconut oil, or can be from animal origins, such as a by-product from candle making and can even be produced from petroleum. Most skin care grades are derived from vegetable oils:  those above plus others such as canola oil and soybean oil.

It is not, as is commonly believed, related to or containing ethylene glycol, and is not obtained from corn oil. It is also a by-product of soap making, and while it is removed from regular soaps for use in higher-priced cosmetic preparations, you can get hand-made glycerin soaps which tend to be clear.

You can always tell a bar of glycerin soap due to its hygroscopic properties.  It forms beads of moisture on the surface, and dissolves a lot more easily in water.  It therefore does not last as long as regular soaps. However, these drawbacks are worth it, because glycerin soap is much better for your skin than regular soaps that can be quite drying. It is much better for young children, keeping their skin lovely and soft, and also for you.

As an aside, if you are thinking of nitroglycerin, you are quite correct. Nitrating glycerin forms nitroglycerin that can then be used to make dynamite, so it truly does have an ‘explosive’ effect on your skin!  In fact, glycerin is perfectly safe until put through the chemical process of nitration.

It is frequently used in oral products to stop them from drying out, and possesses a natural sweet taste. When used on your skin, it doesn’t just sit on the top, but can penetrate and allow it to breathe while retaining moisture. Truly a natural skin care product that acts very simply to keep your skin feeling soft, lovely and moist.