What Is Glycerin?

Glycerin is a thick liquid that is colorless and sweet tasting. It has a high boiling point and freezes to a paste. Glycerin's most common use is in soap and other beauty products like lotions, though it is also used, in the form of nitroglycerin, to create dynamite.

Glycerin is popular in beauty products because it is a humectant — it pulls moisture to the skin. Not only is it used in the soap making process, it's a byproduct too. Many soap manufacturers actually extract glycerin during the soap making process and reserve it for use in more expensive products. However, even when soap manufacturers reserve glycerin for other products, some amount of glycerin remains in every bar of soap.

Additional glycerin may be added to a bar of soap in order to produce a clear finish and extra moisturizing qualities. The extra glycerin also enhances the cleaning aspect of soap.

Glycerin can be dissolved easily into alcohol and water but not into oils. The pure chemical element is called Glycerol, which indicates that it is an alcohol. The impure commercial product is called glycerin.

Glycerin also easily absorbs water from the surrounding air, which means it is hygroscopic. If you were to leave some glycerin in the open, it would absorb water from the surrounding air to eventually become 20% water and 80% glycerin. If you were to place a small amount of pure glycerin on your tongue, you're tongue would blister because glycerin is dehydrating. When water is used to dilute it, however, it makes the skin soft.

Where we got glycerin has changed over time. In 1889, for example, commercial candlemaking was the only way to obtain glycerin. At that time, candles made from animal fat which served as the source of glycerin. Extraction is a complicated process and there are various ways of going about it. The simplest way is to mix fat with lye. When the two are mixed, soap is formed and glycerin is then removed. Still, a small amount of glycerin remains in the soap.

Glycerin has a variety of uses. As stated above, it can be used to make dynamite. It is not explosive alone, however, and it has to be processed before it can be used as an explosive. It's also used in prints and inks, preserved fruits, lotions and as a lubricant. It can also be used to prevent hydraulic jacks from freezing. Its antiseptic qualities permit its use in the preservation of scientific specimens.

Written by Garry Crystal