Glycerin (Ingredient Explained + Products)

You should know

Benefits

Good for Dry Skin

Brightening

Comedogenic Rating: 0

Irritancy Rating: 0

Explained

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

People also like: Niacinamide, Hyaluronic Acid, Water

People also dislike: Niacinamide, Parfum, Water

Also known as: Vegetable Glycerin, Glycerine, and Glycerol

Glycerin is a popular cosmetic ingredient, with about 64.3% of the products in our database containing it.

What it does:

Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent

Community Stats

13754 people from our community have liked or disliked this ingredient.

Users who like it 💖

Often have the following skin types:

Dry Sensitive

Usually have one or more of the following skin concerns:

Seborrheic Dermatitis • Dryness • Sensitivity • Fine Lines

Users who dislike it 💔

Often have the following skin types:

Oily Sensitive

Usually have one or more of the following skin concerns:

Fungal Acne • Dark Spots • Oiliness • Sensitivity

Where it's used

Glycerin is most often found as ingredient number 5 within an ingredient list.

Of the 18 products in our database that have a known concentration of Glycerin, we've seen concentrations from 0.01% to 100% specified within their ingredient lists.