Writing about alcohol in skincare here had left me undecided, which is why I clearly labeled it a ‘controversial subject’.
As you can imagine, I’m not too pleased with this struggle to define an opinion. There’s only one way to get through the murkiness surrounding ‘alcohol in skin care’. Diving back in, in search of more information. In an attempt to gain more clarity, lift the veil, perhaps even get to the bottom of it – here we go again! This page is named (Organic) Alcohol in Skin care = Controversy (Part 2). A very imaginative title, indeed.
To not overly complicate things, let’s just keep it at natural, plant-derived alcohol.
Why? Well, because this is my website and I get to decide, that’s why. Just kidding. Synthetic alcohols haven’t been welcome on my skin for a long time. Those aren’t really the topic of discussion here. The alcohol used in skin care products made with only natural and organic ingredients – that’s what I’m still confused about. The kind of alcohol used in skin care products by Lavera, Weleda and Dr Hauschka for example, but also Miessence moisturizers and many other more or less natural organic skin care lines. It can be found on the ingredient labels as ‘organic ethanol’, ‘sugar cane alcohol’, ‘coconut alcohol’ or simply ‘alcohol’ – often with some kind of explanation about its origin. If the provenance isn’t mentioned on the label directly it can usually be found on the company’s website.
- “The natural (organic) plant-derived alcohol in skin care products will not dry out your skin. As part of a carefully formulated product, it actually helps the skin to absorb the beneficial botanical properties.”
- “As part of a natural preservation system, in many natural organic skin care products alcohol is used instead of (additional) synthetic preservatives.“
Point 1 – Alcohol, coming through!
Keeping stuff out is one of the things our skin does best. It’s pretty much the skin’s reason for being – go figure – and obviously, it excells at it! When we apply something to the skin, a part of it will be absorbed, but another part of the (perhaps) beneficial substances do not penetrate as easily. Whereas one camp says alcohol helps the skin to absorb all beneficial ingredients (as mentioned above), another camp makes it very clear that in doing so, the skins own protective barrier is destroyed. Alcohol dissolves the protective layer. That is indeed how the substances are able to penetrate deeper, but the question is whether you really want that. To camp number two, the benefits of getting these substances past the first protective layer do not outweigh the premature aging caused by alcohol dissolving this barrier.
Having its outer layer remaining intact and form a protective barrier against intruders – doesn’t that seem like the most healthy state for our skin to be in? To me it does. It seems alcohol helps beneficial ingredients to go deeper. It also seems the skin then is more vulnerable to less desirable influences from the outside, next to the alcohol having a drying and perhaps even aging effect.
The question here is which side to pick as the ‘right’ one. Alcohol clearing the way for beneficial extracts to attain deeper skin layers, or bumping alcohol to not disrupt the skin’s own protective barrier. I’m leaning towards a sturdy self-defending top layer, if possible. It sounds like the way of choice for keeping healthy, youthful skin. I still find these two opposing idea’s confusing, but since there is some great alcohol-free organic skin care available, I’m not sure how much sense it makes to take the chance.
Point 2 – Preservation, that’s the question.
Not much new elements to mention here. I would just like to point out the discovery of more and more awesome natural organic skin care lines, who manage to deliver a stellar range of products, without either plant-derived organic alcohol or synthetic preservatives.
You may have heard this many times before: Skin care formulas containing water need to be protected against the growth of bacteria and fungi. One way of handling the preservation-issue is by creating skin care without a water component. Annmarie Gianni makes delicious and very efficient facial oils as an organic moisturizer for different skin types. No water, no worries about alcohol or synthetic preservatives. It’s ideal. Not sure why it is that we somehow expect a moisturizer to be some kind of emulsion. If you’re not familiar with the concept of a facial oil, it’s definitely something your skin may get very excited about! Learn more.
Besides the option of using an oil instead of a lotion, here’s another idea. An emulsion containing a water component being infested by funkiness, unless a synthetic preservative is used…? This principle seems to become more and more outdated. I recently found out about a few newer organic skin care lines made with patented blends of botanical extracts for preservation. These actually do have the power to keep an emulsion fresh, and for a long time. Even though some conventional skin care experts stubbornly insist this can’t be done with natural substances – well, sorry peeps, looks like it can. I’m not a scientist, but the organic skin care lines in question are not the risk-taking kind. Obviously they have done their homework. With all the interesting data I’ve come across, I can’t say this comes as a surprise. There are many examples of botanicals successfully fighting infections which ‘modern’ medicine had given up on.
And here’s another out-of-the-box preservation method: silver. Colloidal silver has antibacterial, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. You may find silver popping up on the ingredient lists of Yuli skin care. Their products are a bit too expensive for my taste, but they seem really nice. One day, I hope to find out if they are as good as they seem.
Bottom line: Even if you’re a hard-core lotion user and have no desire to join the oil-clan, there is an alcohol-free organic skin care product for you. Go plants!
Joker – A little bit won’t hurt…
The amount of alcohol in a product. You can find it as one of the main ingredients of a skin care product, listed within the first five or so. You may also run into alcohol somewhere way down, let’s say in the lower third of the ingredient list. In the last case, the amount of alcohol in the mixture is rather insignificant.
Choosing who to trust – Tough one!
Having read through the thoughts of loads and loads of (even more) skin care experts and dermatologists, I’m still not comfortable taking a stance. As someone who’s not wearing a lab coat, conducting experiments, with a science degree under the belt, I depend on the opinions of the people who do have this background and are kind enough to share their technical findings. All I want, besides understanding why myself, is being able to explain to my mother, to my friends, to anyone… why alcohol in skin care is perhaps not such a good idea. Yes, organic alcohol, even if it’s made from plants, such as the alcohol in natural organic skin care.
Between the first “alcohol = controversy” article and this one, I’ve ploughed through a whole lot more information and gained new insights, but still not total clarity. Thing is, it keeps bugging me that there are some top organic skin care brands that seem to do everything right… Everything but relying on alcohol. To use those products or not to use those products, that’s the question. Or is it?
If the choice were between synthetic skin care on one side, and natural organic skin care with alcohol on the other, perhaps I would opt for the latter, simply because I’m really convinced synthetics aren’t doing the skin/body/earth any good. I would gladly take a bit of potential premature aging over the effects of synthetics. However, it isn’t really such a pressing dilemma, because some of the best organic skin care lines on the market today are formulated without alcohol. This basically allows you to contour the subject, at least until further notice.
In summary:
On a personal note: Part of my confusion around alcohol in skin care probably stemmed from the fact that I love Weleda and Dr Hauschka products very much. I find them so delicious, every single one of them, and not in the least the way they smell. I’m dealing with a rather strong bias, because it’s hard to admit that in regards to their use of plant-derived alcohol these organic skin care lines may perhaps have it wrong. It means I no longer can (as in: ‘want to’) use a bunch of my beloved creams and lotions. I’ve even given my mom a Dr Hauschka cleanser and moisturizer for her last birthday. Oh no – what have I done? (Yeah, I know, she’ll live. 😉 )
That being said, the bright side looks much brighter than the dark side looks dark… There are a few organic skin care lines without alcohol, some real gems in skin care world. Not too many, but the ones that do exist are absolutely superb. Even if the only organic skin care products I’ll ever use again come from that select pool, it’s more than enough luscious fragrance, pampering, moisturizing, scrubbing and slathering for a lifetime.
Add to that the science of beautification not sitting still! New discoveries happen all the time. I keep stumbling upon a fabulous new organic skin care lines every now and then. This doesn’t mean I’ve personally tried them all/already, but based on the ingredients alone, these lines deserve to be mentioned as the ‘creme de la creme’ of organic skin care.
For some of the finest, greenest and most beautiful organic skin care lines without alcohol, please check the short & sweet list below. I’ve only found three so far. That’s not much, but I’m hoping to run into some more over time. To make the list a little more substantial, I’ve added some other organic skin care products without alcohol, even if they’re from a brand that uses alcohol in some of their creations.
Organic Skin Care Lines without Alcohol
Yuli – not that I’ve personally tried any of these products, but they look nice and ethical. Unfortunately, Yuli is a bit above my budget.
Annmarie Gianni – this is my favorite organic skin care line. When getting to know their products, I very much appreciated that they offer samples!
Pai – an organic skin care line I have no experience with, but it seems like another great brand, and doesn’t use any alcohol either.
Organic Skin Care Products without Alcohol
On LoveLula there’s some more alcohol-free skin care. Many of these are oil-based products, for example:
- Organic Body Oils by Weleda, Dr Hauschka and a few other organic skin care lines
- Weleda Rose Facial Oil (Capsules)
Essential Care’s product line isn’t entirely alcohol free, but I’ve been trying two of their organic moisturizers that are. Very much enjoyed the Organic Rose Moisturiser… and then they stopped selling it?! You can still find it on the Essential Care official website (ships from the UK).
For organic skin care reviews – and some reviews of regular stuff – hop-skip to the Skin Care Reviews overview page.
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you!
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