Healthy versus Harmful Alcohols in Skincare

While it might be surprising, the right alcohols have an important role in skin care. Fatty alcohols are derived from fats, including plant-based fats like coconut, palm, and avocado and make natural skin care products feel better, apply better, and perform better. The following common ingredients in green skin products are derived from fats: 

• cetyl alcohol
• stearyl alcohol
• cetearyl alcohol
• arachidyl alcohol
• behenyl alcohol
• isostearyl alcohol

Fatty alcohols aren’t irritating, sensitizing, or pore clogging and create a protective barrier, especially for dry or dehydrated skin.

Fatty Alcohols Are Emulsifiers

Fatty alcohols act as emulsifiers - meaning they help your skincare ingredients combine together. For creamy cleansers and moisturizers, emulsifiers bind the water-based and oil-based ingredients to create a smooth, thick texture. This prevents ingredients from separating and improves your product touch, feel, and performance.

Fatty Alcohols Are Emollients

Fatty alcohols act as emollients - meaning they soften the skin. Emollients make skincare products easier to apply and spread, and give products a smooth and soft texture. 

Layer of Protection with Fatty Alcohols

Fatty alcohols add a protective layer to the skin, preventing water loss and locking in natural moisture. This gives skin a softer, plumper, and smoother skin texture. Fatty alcohols can be powerful ingredients for aging, dry, and sensitized skin.

Find Fatty Alcohols in Dubois Beauty Products

At Dubois Beauty, we use only ingredients that are proven safe for skin. In fact, our products have been clinically tested to be non-irritating and safe for sensitive skin. Find fatty alcohols in: 

• AHA Cleansing Milk (coconut alcohol)
• Renew Buffing Cream (coconut alcohol)
• Vital A Serum (cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol)
• Restorative Night Cream (cetearyl alcohol)
• Protective Day Cream (cetearyl alcohol)
• Bright Eyes Eye Cream (arachidyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, isostearyl alcohol)

Harmful Alcohols in Skincare

On the other hand, many alcohols used in skincare can be harmful to the skin. The following alcohols can cause irritation, inflammation and free radical damage, as well as drying and disrupting the skin barrier:  

• isopropyl alcohol
• methanol 
• ethanol
• ethyl alcohol
• denatured alcohol
• SD alcohol
• benzyl alcohol

You can always review the full list of ingredients to scan for these alcohol ingredients. Ingredients are listed in order of volume - so ingredients at the beginning of the list make up more of the product than ingredients at the end of the list. So you can assess your risk while reviewing your products by seeing what alcohols appear in your products and where they are in the list of ingredients.

We encourage you to discover more about the ingredients we never use and explore our line of high-performance, safe and clean skin care.