What it is
Propylene Glycol is an organic alcohol. It is a slightly sweet, odorless and clear viscous liquid.
What it does
Propylene Glycol is an humectant. It has the ability to attract water and help retain moisture. It moisturizes the skin, leaving it soft and is absorbed quickly. It is very good for dry skin.
Propylene Glycol is also used to help stabilize formulations and help active ingredients to penetrate the skin.
It also a solvent used to prevent creams from drying out.
Side effects
Propylene Glycol can cause skin irritation and sensitization. It can also cause contact dermatitis in prone individuals.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes. From what I just read on your web page here:
http://beautifulwithbrains.com/category/ingredients/
You have written that the ingredient Propylene Glycol is not harmful.
I am not here to tell you that you are wrong because I appreciate what you are doing with your website. This is a wonderful way to help people who are learning so, Thank You.
There is further information on this ingredient and others that have been scientifically proven to cause harm not just from a concentrated dose but from normal everyday use. I thought you may like to know.
More about Propylene Glycol and it’s harmful everyday use can be found at this link along with other ingredients that are prevalently used…
http://www.naturalnews.com/025515_chemicals_toxic_body_care.html
Rose, thanks, I’m glad you appreciate my work. I hope people will learn more about ingredients, which makes it all worthwhile.
Thanks for the link you posted. Scientists discover new things all the time and sometimes, some of these discoveries can completely change what we have thought was true and believed, so if I see any new scientific proof that Propylene Glycol is harmful, I’ll promptly modify this post and make a new one to let my readers know about its potential harmful side effects.
But if you don’t mind me saying this, the link you posted didn’t really convince me that Propylene Glycol is dangerous. Here’s why. The article doesn’t really cite its sources. It says the FDA website says Propylene Glycol causes cancer but there’s not a link to that particular page. I checked the FDA site and couldn’t find such info there. If you did, please let me know. Also, they cite the MSDS sheets, but these sheets only talk about 100% concentrations, not the smaller ones used in cosmetics, which are usually considered to be safe.
Finally, the natural news website features posts from a network of websites and this particular article comes from the Inspired Living website which sells natural and organic products. Now, every brand and store is known to exaggerate and twist the truth to boosts their sales, so I’m honestly skeptical about any claims they make, unless they provide links to scientific sources which they didn’t do.
If I overlooked any part of the article and they do cite any reliable source, then by all means let me know and I’ll reconsider.