Glycerin is present in shampoos, conditioners, soaps, moisturizing creams (for the body and face) and in many other products.
Despite being in many formulas, pure glycerin can also be easily used in homemade recipes, with promises to leave your hair more hydrated, soft and shiny.
There are some tricks and combinations to apply to the wires.
Below we describe if the glycerin in the hair is really good, what care to take and how to use it, whether it is curly, straight or chemically treated. Check out!
Contents
What is glycerin and what is it for?
Glycerin, also called glycol , is a sugar alcohol that looks similar to a syrup. It is extracted from natural sources, but it can also be of synthetic origin. It is a colorless or light yellow liquid, used in homemade recipes and present in industrialized products .
It is not considered a substance with the potential for cleaning the threads, although it is present in many products for this purpose.
In fact, this is a substance that has a thickening and humectant action. This means that it is able to help maintain the natural moisture of the skin and the strands, leaving them looking more healthy and beautiful.
That is why it is so present in cosmetics, creams and lotions.
So, using glycerin, pure or in other products, is a great beauty trick, as it helps to retain water, maintaining the moisture present inside the hair strands. Leaving it softer, with a hydrated and strong aspect.
In addition to being used for hair, the product can also be used to hydrate the skin, face and body. The action performed is the same, to preserve the water present in the tissues.
This product can be easily found in pharmacies and in some supermarkets, in jars usually of 100mL.
The value of glycerin is very low, considering the durability. It is possible to buy for about R $ 10.
Animal and vegetable origin
Glycerin is a substance that can be extracted from both plant and animal sources. It is an important piece of information to be highlighted, especially considering the practitioners of veganism , who do not consume any type of product with animal origin.
When it comes to vegetable-derived glycerin (highly soluble in water), the source is derived from vegetable oils, such as coconut and palm oil. Those of animal origin are derived from animal fat, as in lard.
There is also a third type of glycerin, which is considered synthetic, being extracted in these cases from oil.
Benefits: what does glycerin do to hair?
The glycerin in the hair leaves them more hydrated, by preserving the water inside the strands, due to the wetting action and hygroscopic properties (which absorb the water). In addition, it is emollient (makes the strands more malleable) and lubricant, which helps to make them brighter.
The hydration it promotes is also due to the power that glycerin has to remove moisture from the air and bring it to the hair. Therefore, it is indicated for use on wetter days.
Other benefits, depending on the type of hair, include:
- Reduction of falls and wire breaks;
- Frizz control.
In straight and blond hair
In straight hair (natural, blond, red or with any other type of chemical) glycerin is an ingredient that provides greater hair strengthening, reducing hair falls and breaks.
In addition to being a good moisturizer, it helps to reduce the number of dry and split ends, especially for those who dye or bleach the hair.
Curly and curly hair
In curly and curly wires, glycerin can also be used. The moisturizing and emollient action is the greatest attraction in the use of the product for these types of hair, which require good hydration.
With the use of glycerin and the right care, the result of the use is more defined curls, reduced frizz, volume control, softness and shine.
Glycerin straightens hair?
When using glycerin, the feeling is that the strands become smoother. However, this “passed out” effect occurs due to the product’s moisturizing and emollient action, which leaves hair more aligned, pliable and less bulky.
But it is not the same effect as a chemical straightening, which is long lasting and more visible. Therefore, those who have curly and curly hair need not fear the use of glycerin in moisturizers, as it does not smooth the strands.
What is bidistilled glycerin?
Bidistilled glycerin is the most concentrated and processed form of the product. In crude form, glycerin has an average of 80% of its glycerol concentration and the remainder is composed of water, organic salts and other minerals.
Thus, it is not so pure and transparent, called blonde glycerin for that reason.
The double distillate is the glycerin that goes through the distillation step, a process that separates the materials present in the product at high temperatures and reduced pressure (by vacuum).
What makes the product more pure and concentrated. The concentration of the bi-distilled product can be up to 99.5% glycerol.
From that, it can be used in several other products or used in homemade recipes to hydrate the hair.
Step by step: how to use liquid glycerin in hair?
Glycerin can be used in homemade recipes, to enhance treatment masks, combined with other ingredients (such as aloe vera, saline, honey and cornstarch) and diluted in water to be sprayed on the threads.
It should not be used pure on the threads and is also not very suitable for the driest days, as it can end up stealing moisture from the hair itself. So, instead of more hydrated hair, the result can be unwanted dryness.
The following walkthrough shows one of the most used forms of glycerin in hair:
Preparing the mask
In a pot, mix a sufficient amount of hydration mask (the brand of your choice) according to the length and volume of the strands, then add 1 cap of bidistilled glycerin. Mix the two ingredients well.
Cover the wires
With the hair already washed with shampoo and still damp, apply the mask with glycerin on each strand and well enliven the strands. Thus, all the nutrients of the glycerin and the treatment cream will be better used in this hydration
Let it rest
After gluing the strands well, spray a little water on the hair and put on a hydration cap. This spray is important to enhance the action of glycerin and is indispensable on drier days.
Once this is done, let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
Rinse and finish
After that time, wash the strands thoroughly with warm or cold water. It is possible to leave them to dry naturally or with the use of a dryer.
Homemade recipes
Glycerin can be combined with other ingredients that can help with hydration and hair care. The main combinations are aloe vera, honey and saline.
Read more: What is Capillary Schedule, official, adapted, how to do, products
Glycerin with aloe and honey
Honey and aloe vera are ingredients that also have moisturizing properties. Therefore, they are widely used as home treatments to recover damaged hair.
To make this recipe, just mix the moisturizing mask in the amount sufficient for your hair, 1 cap of glycerin, add aloe vera and a spoon of honey.
With that done, just apply the cream on hair already washed with shampoo and still damp. After resting for 20 to 30 minutes, just rinse.
Serum and glycerin in hair
Saline is used in other hydration recipes to help reduce frizz and combat dryness. Like glycerin, it is also widely used in home treatments for hair and skin.
To use on the wires, mix 1 cap of glycerin, 2 tablespoons of hydration mask and 2 tablespoons of saline.
Apply to hair already washed with shampoo and still damp, let it rest and rinse well.
Read more: Hair hydration: creams and homemade recipes for each type
Contraindications and care with glycerin in hair
There are no major contraindications to the use of glycerin in hair. It is considered a hypoallergenic product, so it rarely causes adverse reactions. But there are some cares that are essential for the hair to be beautiful and hydrated. If used in the wrong way, the result can even be the opposite, causing the hair to dry out.
The main warning is not to use the product directly on the hair, it needs to be diluted in water.
That’s because glycerin has this retention capacity. When used on the hair, it preserves the liquids inside the hair. But for that it needs to be dissolved, otherwise it ends up stealing this water from the wires.
The same happens on very dry days and with low humidity. In these cases, the glycerin does not have moisture in the environment to “steal” and can end up removing from the wires, as compensation.
Prices and where to find
It is not difficult to find this product. Glycerin can be easily purchased in pharmacies and in some supermarket chains, in the perfumery session. It is sold in small bottles, normally 100mL.
It is a product with great cost-benefit, as it can be found in the range of R $ 5 to R $ 10 and has a very good yield.
In Consulta Remédios it is possible to find the product and search in which pharmacy near your home is cheaper.
Some examples of products and average price * are:
- Ideal Bi-distilled Glycerin – R $ 4.56
- Farmax Bi-Distilled Glycerin 100mL – R $ 5.13
- Glycerin Bidestilada Ever Care – R $ 7.59
- Glicerina Bi-Destilada Needs – R$ 12,69.
* The price survey was carried out on the Consulta Remédios website on 06/19/2019. Values may change.
Glycerin is a product used to moisturize and hydrate the strands, to help keep hair softer and more aligned.
This is the result of its power to return moisture to the strands, leaving them less dry and brighter.
For the results in using the product to be positive, the ideal is to prefer to use it on wetter days and always remember that it is necessary to dilute it in water or products with water.
We seek in this article to show how glycerin in hair can be part of your beauty routine. If you have already tried it, share with us your experience and the recipes you like best. Thanks for reading!
