What are "alcohol-free" cosmetics?

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Alcohol in cosmetics is an ingredient that is not good for the skin, easily causing irritation and dryness of the skin. When it comes to alcohol-free cosmetics, we often assume that this product does not contain any alcohol, but this is not entirely true.

1. What are alcohol-free cosmetics?

In the ingredients of cosmetics, there are two types of alcohol used: denatured alcohol (Alcohol denat) and fatty alcohol. To understand the concept of alcohol-free cosmetics, it is necessary to analyze two types of alcohol used in cosmetics.
1.1 Alcohol denat Denatured alcohol is known as a bad alcohol in skin care. It can make cosmetics lighter in texture, deliver deeper skin care active ingredients, give you a tight feeling and narrow your pores.
However, it sounds like these alcohols are effective for skin care, in fact, these alcohols will make your skin dehydrated, creating a feeling of tightness and gradually fading. Corrosion of the skin barrier, causing dryness and irritation.
A new study shows that to limit the drying effects of alcohol in products, you can use products with moisturizing effects. But using too many products containing this alcohol can cause problems with your skin.
These alcohols may be listed on the ingredients as: Alcohol Denat, Benzyl Alcohol, Ethanol, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, methanol, SD alcohol. You should consider your product with a high or low denatured alcohol concentration when choosing cosmetics:
This denatured alcohol has a high concentration that causes dryness, premature skin aging, irritation in some cases, and reduced potency. self-protection of acne skin. So, with dry, sensitive, irritated and acne-prone skin, avoid using products with this alcohol. Low concentrations or products formulated with beneficial moisturizing ingredients can offset the drying properties and the presence of this alcohol can provide many benefits for oily skin. One of the benefits is that it helps nutrients penetrate deeper, the product dries faster and creates a feeling of dryness.

1.2 Fatty Alcohols These are the alcohols also known as alcohols that are good in taking care of your skin. Contrary to the functions of denatured alcohols, fatty alcohols do not dry and irritate the skin as much as dry alcohols. This type makes the formula of the product thicker, helps moisturize the skin, protect the skin, make it softer and smoother.
Fatty alcohols used in skin care can be listed on the ingredients of cosmetics such as: Cetearyl Alcohol, cetyl alcohol, Myristyl alcohol, Stearyl alcohol, butylene glycol, propanediol.
We often understand that alcohol-free cosmetics mean that there are no alcohol ingredients in the product, but even if you look and see product lines labeled as alcohol-free, you still find on the ingredients. contains fatty alcohols, which make you wonder.
However, when it says alcohol-free cosmetics, it means that this product does not contain any denatured alcohol (Alcohol denat) and fatty alcohols are still allowed to be present.

2. Notes when choosing alcohol-free cosmetic products

To choose alcohol-free cosmetic products, you need to pay special attention to the following issues:
Read carefully the ingredients on the product packaging, choose products of clear origin. Should see the alcohol content on product ingredients, should avoid using products with high bad alcohol content because it is harmful to the skin. Bad alcohol is often found in products like sunscreens and toners. So when choosing these two products, pay special attention to the presence of alcohol or alcohol concentration. In short, alcohol-free cosmetics does not mean that cosmetics do not have any alcohol ingredients, but that there are bad alcohol-free ingredients, and fatty alcohols can still be present. To choose the right type you want, you should carefully look at the ingredients when choosing.
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Reference source: fda.gov - beautifulwithbrains.com