Ethanol is dangerous to drink
The ethanol used in cosmetics is said to have an alcohol content of over 90%.
This is a high enough concentration to be life-threatening if ingested accidentally.
The disinfectant used before an injection feels cool and refreshing.
By increasing the concentration of ethanol, we are able to achieve that refreshing feeling when using the product.
Ethanol for a refreshing feeling
The biggest feature of ethanol is its refreshing taste. How is this refreshing taste created?
| Ethanol, which has a very high alcohol content, comes into contact with the skin. ⇩ Evaporate in an instant ⇩ Alcohol is good at dissolving oil, so as it evaporates it strips the oil from your face. Eliminates stickiness caused by sebum, leaving skin feeling refreshed and smooth |
This means that it removes oil from your face while evaporating, reducing the stickiness on the surface of your skin.
Taking advantage of these properties, it is often used in high concentrations in men's lotions, cleansing lotions, acne skin care products, sweat wipes, and deodorant products.
Be careful with sensitive and dry skin
If you use it on oily skin that produces excess sebum, you may find it leaves you feeling refreshed and comfortable.
However, if you have dry or sensitive skin, it may irritate your skin and may even make it dryer.
(This is the same reason why your hands become rough when you use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.)
That's why people with dry or sensitive skin want to avoid ethanol as much as possible. But where should you look on a cosmetic ingredient list to find out what it is?
Points to check in the full ingredient list
First, check to see if "ethanol" is listed at the beginning of the ingredient list (usually the fourth or fifth item).
BG, DPG, and glycerin are the base ingredients of lotions and emulsions.
The presence of ethanol before and after these ingredients, which are present in large amounts, means that there is a high possibility that they are used in high concentrations.
I would like to avoid cosmetics with this kind of labeling as much as possible, as they can cause dryness and irritation.
On the other hand, you don't need to worry too much about cosmetics like these.
This is when it is written after hyaluronic acid, plant extracts, or essential oils.
If ethanol is used to extract the plant extract, it will say something like this at the back.
In this case, the ethanol is not intentionally added, but rather remains as an extraction agent.
This means that only trace amounts are expected to be present.
If it's a very small amount, it's unlikely to affect your skin enough to cause irritation or dryness, so there's no need to worry too much.
(If you have super sensitive skin, you should still be careful.)
Although it does not say ethanol, please be aware of the following points.
Well then, how about this one?
This product contains water and has "ethanol" listed as the fifth ingredient (right after glycerin), so you know you need to be careful.
But!!
What you should pay more attention to is "denatured alcohol," which is listed second after water.
This is actually a very high-proof alcohol, which strips away oils from the skin and evaporates just like regular ethanol.
Those wanting to avoid ethanol should be equally careful with "denatured alcohol."
Related article: What is denatured alcohol and why is it in cosmetics?
Alcohol you don't need to worry about
Also, although it can be a little confusing, there are some ingredients that have moisturizing effects even though they are labeled as "alcohol."
These ingredients, with names like the ones below, are made from animal and plant fats and are used as emulsifiers and moisturizers.
These are alcohol ingredients that are completely different from ethanol and denatured alcohol. There are many ingredients that you don't need to worry about.
- Cetearyl alcohol
- Stearyl alcohol
- Cetanol (Cetyl Alcohol)
- Oleyl alcohol
- Behenyl Alcohol
- Caprylyl alcohol
- Caprylyl glycol
- Decyl Alcohol
- Isostearyl alcohol
- Lauryl alcohol
- Myristyl Alcohol
By the way, the ingredient "phenoxyethanol" is also commonly seen.
This is a synthetic preservative, which is another different ingredient.
Reference article: Safety of phenoxyethanol
summary
Although the word "alcohol" is used in general, there are many different ingredients, so it may be difficult to remember them all.
For now, I hope you can at least remember the key points to look out for when identifying ethanol (and denatured alcohol).
I hope this will be of some help to you in cultivating healthy skin.
CONCIO
Keiko Kimoto
