Cetearyl Alcohol: What is it and how is it used?

Skincare is quite important for maintaining the overall health and well-being of your skin. This is because the skin is one of the most important parts of the human body that remains exposed to the external environment. It is one of the five sense organs of the human body, that helps us to experience the sense of touch. To keep the skin healthy and free from the occurrences of different types of problems and disorders, it is very important for you to take good care of the skin and use components that will help to keep your skin healthy and naturally glowing. Some people often use certain types of skincare products that might consist of different types of chemical components and frequent use of these types of chemical components on your skin might result in skin damage. While some chemicals might be good for you, some of them might be truly harmful for you. One of those types of components is alcohol.

We all have a general idea about what any class of alcohol is made up of. Alcohols are common in daily uses, either for the purpose of consumption or in medical fields for sterilization of different medical tools. Alcohol is a quite common chemical component that is found in several types of skincare and beauty products. Some alcohols are healthy for your skin, while some are labeled as harmful ones.

But it is quite confusing which type of alcohol might be best suited for you. Are you someone who is bothered about the effect of skincare and beauty products on your skin that consists of alcohol and similar types of harmful chemical components? Then this might be the best article for you. Read the article till the end as this one will help you to understand the effect of alcohol on your skin and the way it can lead to any harm to the overall well-being of your skin after it is applied on it.

What type of alcohol is applied to the surface of your skin

There are several types of beauty products that might consist of alcohol, such as denatured alcohol, Cetearyl alcohol, and so on. For instance, denatured alcohol is a type of alcohol that is often used as a common component in different types of cosmetics and skincare products, for example, toners and in those beauty products that involve substances that act as a drying agent.

These classes of alcoholic compounds are such that they dry out quite quickly and when applied on the surface of your skin, make the skin look matte and smooth by neutralizing the oily substances from your skin and face. But the most important caution about the use of denatured alcohol is that it must be present in small amounts in the skincare or whichever beauty product you are using. When used in small quantities, this type of alcohol is good for your skin, but when it is mixed with methanol (or methyl alcohol), which is another form of alcohol, then it can seem in through the skin’s surface. But it is important for you to keep in mind that denatured alcohol is not harmful or toxic for your skin and if used at limited levels, it can make your skin better. But in some cases, this alcohol can also make your skin dry and might also hamper the natural barrier of your skin, along with risks of several types of skin conditions such as feelings of irritation with dryness, breakouts, and so on.

Is Cetearyl alcohol safe for your skin?

Cetearyl alcohol is another type of alcohol that is usually used as a chemical component in skin and beauty products such as creams, lotions, and different types of haircare products as well. Some experts claim that cetearyl alcohol is safe compared to other types of alcoholic chemical components because it will not dry away the skin surface and it is mostly considered safe for the skin and hair due to its non-toxic effects. The skincare and haircare products of common use that consist of Cetearyl alcoholic components can be listed as follows:

• Skin creams
• Skim moisturizers
• Lotions
• Sunscreen
• Shampoo
• Conditioners
• Frizz-free hair cream
• Hair serum
• Hair mousse
• Hair dye
• Mascara

The chemical component that is present in Cetearyl alcohol is a common substance in cosmetics and its chemical composition allows fatty alcohols to trap water and thus helps to moisturize the skin because of which the skin develops a soothing feeling.

What do you need to know about the use of rubbing alcohol on your skin?

Though in most cases the use of alcohol is harmful and unhealthy for your skin, there are certain types of antiseptic alcohol that are beneficial for the overall health and well-being of your skin surface. Rubbing alcohol, scientifically known as isopropanol or isopropyl alcohol is one example of that kind of alcohol. Rubbing alcohol provides wonderful cleaning functions, so it is used as a component for sanitization purposes. But in some cases, rubbing alcohol might also have negative effects. For instance, rubbing alcohol is not beneficial for your skin, especially for your face if you have acne because rubbing alcohol can make conditions of acne far worse. When you are applying a beauty product that contains rubbing alcohol, and if it is an acne-prone area, then the alcohol can strip the natural oils that are present in the outer layer of the skin which will eventually allow bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms to grow on the pores and cause severe harm to your skin.

Types of alcohol components in skincare and beauty products:

There are two major types of alcohol substances that are usually present in skincare and beauty products, they are the good fatty alcohols and the bad alcohols. The class of chemical compositions that are categorized under good and fatty alcohol are beneficial for the skin because these types of fatty alcoholic substances help to keep the skin surface waxed and act as good emollients and thickeners. This helps you to have better skin conditions, but the bad denatured alcohols are usually devoid of fatty chemical chains and these types of alcohol tend to dry out the skin and cause inflammation and irritation to develop on the skin surface.

Apart from these, there are also certain types of alcohols such as ethanol (or ethyl alcohol), methyl isopropyl alcohol, and benzoyl alcohols, that can make you feel good once these chemical-containing skincare and beauty products are applied on the skin, but eventually, the skin surface is found to become thinner.

What are experts saying about the use of alcohol in skincare products?

Some experts claim that the use of alcohol or alcohol-based skincare and beauty products can be harmful to your skin, especially in the case of Indian and African races, those who have high levels of melanin in their skin, because people of these races might suffer from post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and skin irritation due after the use of skincare and beauty products on the skin. They even claim that when alcohol becomes the main ingredient of a skincare product, then it might cause harm to your skin. In fact, alcohol-based skincare products can also be a problem for those who have sensitive skin and tendencies of skin allergies.

But there are other experts who claim that there are certain exceptions when it comes to the use of alcohol in skincare products. For instance, many dermatologists are often known to claim that the use of cetearyl alcohol in prescribed doses is good for skin health because this form of acid helps the skin to absorb the extracts of Vitamin C and retinol that allow the skin surface to retain moisture.

A note of caution when using alcohol for skincare purposes:

This article has made it clear that there are certain classes of alcohol that are beneficial for your skin health, while there are some other groups of alcohol that might prove to be quite harmful to the skin. So, when you are buying any skincare or beauty product you need to check the chemicals and the levels of alcohol present in them. You should be cautious about the fact that in many cases you might not understand which one is the best for you and which alcohol should not be used. So, before using an alcohol-containing product, ask for an expert opinion.