Friends! In my practice, I often encounter various questions regarding various ingredients in cosmetics, especially those that are horrified that they are very harmful. Today I would like to focus on propylene glycol.
Propylene glycol is a trihydric alcohol, most often in the composition of cosmetics appears as part of some plant extract, as it is a good extractant.
Let me remind you that most often various substances are used as an extractant, which are selected depending on the active components that we need to extract from the raw materials: water, ethyl alcohol, propylene glycol (butylene glycol), vegetable oil or carbon dioxide. Or mixtures of them. The basic principle here is: like dissolves into like.
For example, take propolis. With water extraction, you can get a mixture of phytoncides and aromatic substances, with oil we will extract essential oils and wax-like and fat-soluble components, including fat-soluble vitamins A and E. Alcohol or propylene glycol - flavonoids, phenolic compounds, water-soluble vitamins, lignans, saponins and other components.
Propylene glycol is very similar in structure to glycerin. But it has a lower viscosity, therefore it is more popular in cosmetics due to sensory.
Here are cosmetic studies on the safety of propylene glycol:
CIR published a final report on propylene glycol research in the American Journal of Toxicology (Journal of American Toxicology, 13 (6): 437-491, 1994), concluding that propylene glycol is safe for use in cosmetic products at concentrations up to 50%. . FDA - GRAS classification (recognized as safe for use in food and dietary supplements) CIR (Cosmetics Ingredient Review Assessments) – safe with use limits assigned by CIR (up to 50%) EPA (Chemical Hazard Data Availability Study) - propylene glycol is approved for use in consumer products CDC (Center for Disease Control) - Recognized as safe for use in food
It is important to remember that cosmetics may contain ingredients that show toxicity in laboratory tests - by ingestion, injection, inhalation, etc. or irritate the skin in its pure 100% form. But in cosmetics, scanty concentrations are used, which do not pose a danger.
In general, the main problem of the cosmetic press today is the abundance of journalists without medical and biological education, who write without understanding the essence. This is how legends and horror stories are created.
Believe me, propylene glycol is less harmful than "natural green" cosmetics without antioxidants, which after 1-2 months begins to go rancid (change smell and appearance), and turns into a carcinogen...