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Ingredient Breakdown Skincare

What is Glycerin?

on by Samantha Ramos 103 views
Non-Foaming Cleansers Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser Washing Glycerin

Raise your hand if you read a skin care label EVER and found the word “Glycerin”.

I’m sure all of you are raising your hands right now. Glycerin is in A LOT. We figured it was time to finally answer:

  • What is glycerin?
  • Why is it in everything?

That is, of course, what we do here…uncover the mysterious world of beauty and break it down so we can handle it better together. In a nutshell, glycerin is a moisturizing agent…but it’s so much more.

Elements of a Good Moisturizer

Did you know there are three things that make a moisturizer moisturize? Yeah, sorry we’re going to get a little more confused before we make things clear again. The three types are:

  1. Emollients, which smooth out your skin by addressing rough edges at the cellular level. In reality, most emollients actually repel water so it may make your skin feel better to the touch, but they’re actually not hydrating your skin.
  2. Occlusives, which form a protective barrier over your skin. These help to lock moisture in!
  3. Humectants are the star of the show. Humectants actually attract water to itself. It’s a moisturizer that attracts more moisture.

Glycerin, my friends, is a humectant! The star of the moisturizing show.

Is it starting to make sense why its in almost everything?

The Details on Glycerin, Specifically

Glycerin is a colorless, odorless humectant liquid that is derived from plants. It actually has the power to attract moisture from not only the deep levels of your skin, but also from the surrounding environment! Cool, right?

Not only does it hydrate the heck out of your skin, it also signals your superficial skin cells to mature more rapidly which helps with healing! (A.K.A. A fast-track to smooth skin!)

Even better? Glycerin is non-comedogenic (won’t clog your pores) and is safe for all skin types! See, things are getting less confusing already!

Where You’ll Find Glycerin

Glycerin is probably in many of the products you already own! Moisturizers, serums, cleansers, etc. typically have it! In fact, it’s really great in cleansers to counter-act how drying they can be sometimes. (But if you’re avoiding those sulfates and using a non-foaming cleanser, you should be safe there…)

Here are some of our fav glycerin-using products:

Non-Foaming Cleansers Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser Hyaluronic Acid Glycerin

Cleanser

Cocokind-Vitamin-C-Serum-Review Glycerin

Serum

Youth to the People Glycerin

Moisturizer

Summer-Fridays-Jet-Lag Vegan Skin Care Glycerin Ingredient breakdown

Mask

Everything You Need to Know About Glycerin

There you have it, friends! Glycerin is in just about everything and now you not only know what it is, but you know why it’s so beneficial in almost every product.

In reality, we just love all the hydrating ingredients! Glycerin, hyaluronic acid, squalane and all the oils. When it comes to skin care, hydration really is the name of the game.

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