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Alcohol has become an extremelyunpopularskin-care ingredientdespite the fact that it can be extremely helpful.
Getty / KucherAV
But even more of it is, sadly, straight-up misinformation.
Alcohol doesnt always burn and sting your face.
For starters, there are about a zillion different kinds of alcohol.
But, in reality, that barely scratches the surface.
Most commonly, alcohol is used to make products go on and absorb more easily.
Theyre most often liquids and tend to evaporate pretty quickly.
[Ingredients] like isopropyl alcohol, alcohol denat.
They feel niceespecially if you have oily skin.
Plus, she says, they help increase the skin penetration of active ingredients like vitamin C and retinol.
Some types of alcohol can actually be moisturizing.
Typically, these alcohols are derived from the fatty acids in plant and/or vegetable oilshence the term fatty alcohols.
Theyre thick, waxy, and often totally solid at room temperature.
They make a product feel thick and luxurious, with a heavy texture, Dr. Piliang explains.
That sure doesnt sound like the evil alcohol you know and hate….
4.
But, yes, okay, using too much alcohol in your skin-care products can definitely cause irritation.
Using too much of either kind of alcohol can have some drawbacks.
In high concentrations or with heavy use, solvent-pop in alcohols can be pretty drying and irritating.
Moisturizing fatty alcohols arent all sunshine and roses, either.
Just because something is plant-derived doesnt mean its harmless.
Plus, plant oilsespeciallycoconut and palm oilsare pretty great at clogging pores.
But someone who has moresensitive skinmight find that drying or irritating.
For sensitive skin:Those with sensitive skinespecially those witheczemashould use caution when it comes toallalcohols.
They may find that even those moisturizing, high molecular weight alcohols are irritating.
In that case, Dr. Zampella recommends sticking with something like Vaseline or Aquaphor.
And then it becomes trial and error on some level.
But its also really not!
If you have oily skin, you might evenlike it.
