Vegetable Glycerine (Palm Free)

A colourless sweet viscous liquid derived from vegetable fats. It is a by-product of the soap-making process, which separates the glycerin from the fatty acids in the whole oil. In this case the glycerin is extracted from non-palm sources.

Glycerin is a humectant or water binding additive. It performs a number of functions in a formula including increasing solubility of some actives (herbal extracts, perfumes etc),  acting as a moisture resevoir to prevent a product from drying out and/ or as a cost-effective skin conditioning agent.

It is often said that glycerin is a natural preservative.  This is a slight over-simplification as while glycerin is self-preserving it is not a preservative. Glycerin works by keeping water bound up in a formula making it unavailable for microbes and if microbes have no water they can't thrive.  To achieve this glycerin has to be at a high level, usually higher than the average cosmetic formula can bare thus making this an impractical way to keep a product preserved.

Derived from Soybean and Rapeseed.

Use level: 1-5% is typical

Solubility: Water soluble.