Is propylene glycol harmful to the human body?

When it comes to the chemical reagent propylene glycol, many people may not know much about it. In fact, propylene glycol is used quite widely in life, especially among female friends. The cosmetics they often use contain propylene glycol. Nowadays, people have a strong awareness of health and often use cosmetics containing propylene glycol, so they naturally worry about the possible effects on their health. So, is propylene glycol harmful to the human body? Let’s take a look below.

It is safe in cosmetics because the content is very low and it only acts as a solvent ingredient.

I don’t know where the safety of propylene glycol first came from, but it seems that some consumers now do have awareness of the safety of propylene glycol. Some consumers believe that it may cause skin irritation and allergies, and some even believe that it may cause cancer. In fact, this kind of judgment on the safety of propylene glycol is one-sided and inaccurate. The pure raw material propylene glycol is somewhat irritating to the skin, but the irritation to the skin of pure raw materials is not limited to propylene glycol. Many other raw materials, such as many surfactants, preservatives, fragrances, etc., will irritate the skin. Especially for sensitive skin, various raw materials may cause allergies or irritation. How can we blame propylene glycol alone?

However, not all cosmetics contain 100% propylene glycol. The general content is around 1% to 10%. Propylene glycol is neither a banned substance nor a restricted substance in cosmetics. There are quite a lot of products on the market that contain propylene glycol, and no large multinational company has banned the use of propylene glycol.

Benefits of Propylene Glycol

1. Moisturizer

The moisturizing mechanism is the same as glycerin, but not as sticky as glycerin

2. Antifreeze

Lowering the crystallization point of water makes the product less likely to freeze at sub-zero temperatures to avoid stability problems.

3. Penetration enhancers

Propylene glycol is used as a penetration enhancer to enable the active ingredients in the product to be better absorbed through the skin. It is usually used in combination with oleic acid or azone and is widely used.

Application of Propylene Glycol

1. Propylene glycol is used as the raw material of resin, plasticizer, surfactant, emulsifier and demulsifier. Propylene glycol can also be used as antifreeze and heat carrier.

2. Propylene glycol is an important raw material for unsaturated polyesters, epoxy resins, and polyurethane resins, and the amount used in this regard accounts for about 45% of the total consumption of propylene glycol. This unsaturated polyester is widely used in surface coatings and reinforced plastics.

3. Propylene glycol is used as a carrier solvent; wetting agent; humectant; anti-caking agent; antioxidant; texturizing agent; surfactant; stabilizer; thickener; dough conditioner; emulsifier; flavoring agent; excipient; processing aid. GB2760~96 lists it as food processing aids.

Propylene glycol is mainly used as a solvent for various spices, pigments, preservatives, and an extraction solvent for vanilla beans, roasted coffee grains, natural spices, etc. Moisturizer and softener for candy, bread, packaged meat, cheese, etc. It can also be used as an anti-mold agent for noodles and fillings. Adding 0.006% to soy milk can keep the flavor unchanged when heated, and make white and shiny packaged tofu, which will expand in volume when fried.

4. Propylene glycol is an intermediate of the fungicide difenoconazole.

5. Propylene glycol can be used as a solvent to dissolve preservatives, pigments, antioxidants and other food additives that are difficult to dissolve in water, and then add them to food; it has strong hygroscopicity and has moisturizing and antifreeze effects on food. Our country stipulates that it can be used in pastries, with a maximum usage of 3.0g/kg.

6. Propylene glycol. Used as gas chromatography stationary phase, solvent, antifreeze agent, plasticizer and dehydrating agent.

7. As a drug carrier and granular drug agent. It can be used as moisturizer, softener, solvent, etc. in cosmetics. In the tobacco industry, it can be used as tobacco flavor, tobacco moisturizer, preservative, etc.