Alcohols are organic compounds where the -OH functional group is bonded to a carbon atom.

Its properties can be used in each formula without having to classify them as “good or bad”, that is, by knowing the molecule we can determine which is its best use and by knowing your skin, decide if it favors you or not.

The most common is ethyl alcohol or ethanol. It is used as an ingredient in industries such as liquor, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and toiletries.

In order not to encourage its use as a liquor, impotability substances are added to ethyl alcohol that act as agents that do not make it ingestible. In cosmetics, for example, they are usually called denaturants and their INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) must indicate that it was denatured and thus appears as Alcohol Denat and in several cases is used as a solvent in perfumes.

At 70% concentration it is a very good antiseptic since it eliminates microorganisms on living tissues. And in turn, it is a very good disinfectant because it eliminates microorganisms on non-living tissues or inert surfaces. 

In Colombia, cosmetics contain less than 70% alcohol. But 70% antiseptic alcohol is an over-the-counter medicine that you get at pharmacies. Its presence in products is not a problem, but its function in that formula must be analyzed in order to make a decision on its use.

The use of ethyl alcohol in cosmetic products is something that we see continuously, it is normally used in perfumes, in hair tonics. But in non-rinseable products, depending on the concentration, they can cause unwanted reactions such as irritation, damage to the skin barrier, which is why it should be evaluated with a dermatological team.

In shampoos it is used as a preservative and although it is rinsed from the root of the hair, it can dry out the hair fiber and degrade its colors due to its solvent properties.

It is for all this that ethyl alcohol, despite being flammable, irritating and solvent, can be well used in some formulas. Find in our portfolio products with the best quality and technical specifications so that you can develop products with the best quality. chemfluid.com.co