Addressing The Rumors about Glycerin and Glycol

Addressing The Rumors about Glycerin and Glycol

If you’re a regular reader of the LashBase Blog, then you’ll know that we’re big on education! We’ve covered it all: ingredients in adhesives, reasons for poor retention and today’s post is no exception.

Today we wanted to focus on two ingredients in particular: Glycerin and Glycol.

You may have heard of them before, from a lash group or online forum. They usually come with the stigma that they are ‘unfriendly ingredients’ and products containing these ingredients should “never be used” on lash extensions.

We all know that we should avoid using oily products on our lash extensions, however, we wanted to provide a bit more detail about these two ingredients and break it down to clear up a few rumors.  

So, Glycol is used in the oil and lubricant industry and Glycerin is a polyol, found in animal fats and vegetable oils. So, both ingredients are associated with oil but are not in the oil themselves. Glycols and Glycerol are actually hydrating and are used in small amounts to prevent products from melting in high heat or from freezing. They also help active ingredients penetrate the skin. In addition to this, these ingredients help many cosmetics products do what they need to do. So, in short, Glycerin and Glycol do NOT need to be avoided.

So, what is safe to use on lash extensions?

Firstly: Use lash extension safe products!

Our Purified Sensitive eyelid and lash cleanser is extension friendly! Specially formulated to be PH neutral and oil-free making it perfect for all skin types.This foaming cleanser is ideal for youto thoroughly clean the lashes and eye area and forms part of a perfect aftercare regime to keep lashes clean and healthy.

Secondly, you can just carry on with what you are using, but just be aware of any changes you experience. If you suddenly experience poor retention, could it be because of something you are using such as baby wipes or make-up wipes?

Thirdly, it is “oily products” that are the problem here, not “products containing oil”. A good way to test this out for yourself if to wipe a little bit of the product on the back of your hand, if it feels greasy and doesn’t soak straight in then its possibly too oily.

And finally, remember that “rules” change so it’s important to understand that the “truth” is not set in stone, and new discoveries are happening all the time. Be inquisitive check your insurance to see if there are any requirements you need to follow and remember to find what works best for you.

The information provided in this post was contributed by Michelle Ryan, so we would like to credit Michelle for her insightful input on this topic.

We hope this post has been helpful and provided some more information on Glycol and Glycerin. If you have any questions, please get in touch on Instagram @LashBase_US

Thanks for reading!