There are two major types of alcohol in skincare: fatty alcohol and astringent alcohol. What's the difference between the two?
Fatty Alcohols
Fatty alcohols are hydrating and sometimes used to enhance texture. Solvent alcohols are astringents on the skin and tend to dry out the skin.
Fatty alcohols are referred to as “good alcohols” in skincare. This is because they help hydrate the skin and help thicken the texture of products.
Examples include:
Solvent Alcohols
Solvent alcohols are the ones that give alcohols a bad rep. These are the “bad alcohols” in skincare due to their astringent nature. Astringents constrict the pores by drawing water out of tissues.
This is why using ingredients such as Alcohol Denat and ethanol leave your skin feeling dry.
While alcohol can be used to mattify oily skin or treat acne, it may cause irritation and skin damage.
The quantity of alcohol is important. Small amounts of alcohol are generally tolerated by oily skin or people who live in humid environments.
The rule of thumb is if a solvent alcohol is near the end of an ingredients list, it will probably not affect your skin much.
Other types of astringent alcohols include:
- Ethyl Alcohol or ethanol
- Methanol
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- SD Alcohol
- Benzyl Alcohol
