Glycerin

Every day I either eat or use glycerin. Glycerin can be found in many items such as sweeteners, lozenges, and even moisturizers. For many purposes, you may be asking yourself what even in glycerin? Glycerin is a colourless, odourless, sticky liquid that tastes sweet and mostly non-toxic. 

Being non-toxic this means when you use this product your symptoms could be headaches, dizziness, vomiting, thirst and diarrhea. (1)  With symptoms being so minor they only happen to a small group of people, that’s why it is put into many items. Glycerin is put into many items because it has three hydroxyl groups attached (2), which means it absorbs moisture from the air and it also keeps this moisture. With the hydroxyl groups that it has, it is also put into many processed types of meat that you can buy from a grocery store. Since the water that the hydroxyl groups take it helps to keep the food fresh for longer. In pharmacy drugs such as lozenges, it’s used in a similar way. The hydroxyl groups are still the main focus, when you take a lozenge it dissolves slightly all the way down your throat. When this happens every time you breathe the hydroxyl groups hold the moisture from the lozenge to keep your throat completely soothed. 

    I use glycerin as a skincare product in my proactive toner. Personally, I don’t get the side effects that can occur when using this product. But instead, I get the benefits of moisturized skin throughout the day. I think that glycerin is very beneficial with a low side effect which makes me say that it is a good trade-off for the benefits that you can receive.

(1) “Safety Assessment of Glycerin as Used in Cosmetics” (2014, Aug 18). Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://www.cir-safety.org/sites/default/files/glycerin.pdf

(2) Glycerol (n.d). Retrieved February 12, 2020, from https://biologydictionary.net/glycerol/

PHOTO- Michaels, H. (2020) “Me n My toner”