Alcohol does not inherrently mean drinking alcohol.
An alcohol is simply defined as any organic compound that carries at least one hydroxyl functional group (C-OH) bound to their aliphatic structure.
Ethanol is one type of alcohol, which we distill and ferment from sugars found in a variety of grains/starches/corn/fruits, etc. This is the alcohol that we drink in beer/liquor/wine.
Other common, but certainly not safe for consumption alcohols are Methanol (commonly known as wood alcohol) and Isopropanol (also known as rubbing alcohol). There are also a large number of OTHER alcohols which are all different types of solvents, precursors, preservatives, and fuels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol
An “alcohol” is actually a class of molecules that are related in their molecular structure. The one we drink is called “ethyl alcohol”, but there are a lot of different ones. They have different consistencies, odors, abilities to dissolve substances and volatility. So depending on what the manufacturer wants, you add the kind that makes sense.
You might see something like Cetyl alcohol or Cetearyl alcohol, which are fatty alcohols used as thickeners and conditioner boosters. You might see a glycol, like propylene glycol, or a sugar alcohols, like xylitol, which work as humectants to draw water from the atmosphere to hydrate skin or hair, bind water, reduce the freezing point of the product, boost preservatives, or act as a solvent for other ingredients, like extracts. And you can find liquid alcohols, like rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol, which act as solvents, offer a cool, refreshing “fresh kick”, and can be used as preservatives if they are in high quantities.
There is no way of ELI5-ing alcohols. This is some seriously complicated organic chemistry (organic since it’s molecules built up from the same type of atoms that you find in plants&animals. Just often arranged very differently) and there are thousands of different types of alcohols.
However, when looking at shower gels they do two things (mostly).
1. They keep everything together and looking non-icky.. The shower gel looks like a single liquid instead of letting stuff pool at the bottom or floating on top or becoming flakes floating around in the gel.
2. They change how it feels when you touch it. Companies spend a lot of money to have shower gel feel exactly right (the right amount of squish, clinginess and goopiness), and a big reason for showergels feeling like they do is what kind of alcohols (and how much of them) you put in it.
if you want to know how they’re chemically different, skip this. If you want to know why they’re different but still called alcohol, give this a try.
You’re letting labels and your unfamiliarity with chemistry intimidate you. If these were soft drinks, which you probably have a lot of experience with, you could easily understand the differences. You can probably explain the difference between Coca-Cola, lemonade, Slurpee, tea, and seltzer. They’re all pretty similar, but made slightly different ways. Some are better in certain situations.
Same difference with the alcohols.
As a cosmetic hobbyist, I can explain this very simply. Alcohols do different things. And generally, cosmetic ingredients tend to have more than one effect.
Cetyl Alcohol: Stabilizes the emulsions. It has humectant(the skin will stay hydrated) properties. It also makes the cosmetic opaque. You can add oils and fats instead of cetyl alcohol, but the ingredient wouldn’t be stable. It would be hard in Canada, more creamy in Turkey.
Cetearyl Alcohol: Similar to cetyl alcohol. But has different texture in cosmetics.
Ethyl Alcohol: Mostly used in perfumes and body mists. It’s a solvent. Makes perfume smell more powerful. Used as a preservative if it’s added a lot of amounts.
Glycerine: Humectant, and used as a solvent when you make plant extracts. Cosmetics have a lot of extracts, so they may use this as a solvent. Also used when you make transparent soap. And boosts the preservative effect. Glycerine is a preservative like sugar, but you have to use it a lot of amounts. I mean, A LOT OF.
Propylene Glycol: Somehow, Lush loves this ingredient. It’s also like glycerine, but this feels more synthetic. I tend to use glycerine in my cosmetics and extracts. Also, this ingredient heavily used as a solvent of aroma chemicals.
Xylitol: Used in toothpaste as bacteria killer and sweetener. I love this ingredient so much. You can even make a candy that cleans your teeth with this.
Isopropyl alcohol: Never used this, but B&BW uses this in their body scrubs. I think it has some “scrubbing” properties.
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