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You may be wondering why some cosmetic manufacturers claim their products are alcohol-free, but then you find alcohol in the ingredient list. How can that be?
The answer...cosmetic manufacturers are permitted to claim "alcohol free" on their product label as long as the product DOES NOT contain ethyl alcohol (ie. it may contain cetyl, cetearyl, stearyl, or lanolin alcohols which are all fatty alcohols and have a different affect on the skin & are therefore not classified as "alcohol" despite their name).
In cosmetic labeling, the word "alcohol" by itself refers to ethyl alcohol (ie. grain alcohol, rubbing alcohol, or ethanol). Pure ethyl alcohol provides an antibacterial function, but causes a strong drying effect on the skin which is why it is rarely used in skincare products.
What is SD Alcohol?
...in order to make ethyl alcohol not drinkable (so that it won't be illegally used as an alcoholic beverage instead of a skincare ingredient), it must be denatured. Once ethyl alcohol has been denatured, it will appear on skincare labels as "SD Alcohol" or "Alcohol Denat."
This highly purified form of alcohol is used in cosmetics primarily as a vehicle to deliver ingredients to the skin's surface. SD Alcohol evaporates almost instantly, which makes it an ideal base for fragrances and toner/astringents. It doesn't really stay on your skin long enough to harm it – though you will feel some stinging on cuts before it disappears completely. That being said, if you have very parched, easily irritated skin or hair, avoid alcohols composed of small molecules like isopropyl alcohol & SD alcohol.
If you are looking for a good toner that doesn't contain "alcohol", you may want to try ones by Stem Organics and ZenBiotic. |
