Humectants

Question: Does glycerin draw water from your skin when the humidity is low? (updated)

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I’m still on a quest to figure out the answer to this question…so let’s review information I’ve found so far. What is a humectant? “Humectancy or hygroscopy is the tendency of a substance to attract water from the surroundings by absorption and adsorption at defined conditions (temperature, humidity).” (page 26, this review). Is glycerin a...

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Humectants: A lotion maker’s best friend or moisture thief?

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I’ve always thought of February 27, 2009, as the official birthday of the blog as this is when I decided to blog every single day about some kind of bath or body thing, be it an ingredient, a recipe, or a fun fact to know and learn. One of the earlier posts was entitled Humecants are...

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Humectants: Dipropylene glycol & butylene glycol

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Dipropylene glycol shares many of the characteristics of propylene glycol, but it has a higher boiling point (232.2˚C vs. 188˚C for propylene glycol) and a higher molecular weight. It’s used more as a fragrance fixative than a humectant, although it can behave as a hygroscopic ingredient. It will reduce the freezing point of your products...

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Much maligned ingredients: Propylene glycol

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In line at a shop the other day, a woman turned to me and told me that propylene glycol was in anti-freeze and ranch dressing! “I’m not eating anti-freeze,” she said. I have no idea why she told me this. It wasn’t like I was telling her about my love of cosmetic chemistry or holding...

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Hydrovance vs. urea (updated)

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Jelena posted the following question: Do you know what is the difference between Hydrovance (INCI: Hydroxyethyl Urea) and Urea (INCI: Urea)? Which one is more moisturizing?   The short answer? I think the Hydrovance. Now for the long answer… Urea is a good humectant, found in the stratum corneum of our skin. It is a...

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