What is Glycerin?
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Glycerin is a sweet tasting, colorless, thick liquid that has a high boiling point and freezes to a paste. Cold process soap makers use it because it is a humectant. This means that it attracts moisture to your skin. It is a natural by-product in the soap making process. Commercial manufacturers remove glycerin to be used in more expensive lotions and creams but an amount remains in every soap bar made.
Extra glycerin added to a soap bar produces a clear finish and extra moisturizing qualities. It is also a good solvent. Many things will dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into alcohol or water.
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 is also highly hygroscopic. This means that it easily absorbs water from the air. If you were to leave a bottle of pure glycerin in the open, it would absorb water from the air to eventually become 20% water and 80% glycerin. If you were to place a small amount of pure glycerin on your tongue it would cause blistering. This is because it is dehydrating, although when diluted with water, it softens the skin.
In 1889, commercial candlemaking was the only way to obtain glycerin; candles at the time were made from animal fat. Later, nitroglycerin was used to make dynamite. Extraction is a complicated process and there are various ways of going about it. The simplest way is to mix fat and lye. When the two are mixed, soap is formed and the glycerin is left out, although a small amount remains in the soap.
Glycerin has a variety of uses. As stated above, it can be used to make dynamite. It is not an explosive substance on its own; it has to be turned into nitroglycerin before it becomes explosive. Other uses include print and ink making, conserving preserved fruits, making lotions and lubricating moulds. It can also be used to prevent freezing in hydraulic jacks, and as it has an antiseptic quality, it is sometimes used to preserve scientific specimens in high school labs.
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New: Discuss this ArticlePosted by: anon788
I have a strange question. If Glycerin is sweet tasting, does it contain any sugar as in carbs? I take a liquid Vitamin B that has glycerin in it and I cant seem to find out if it has any sugar carbs in it. I am on a low carb diet.
Posted by: bhammonds
I heard on the radio someone say that you can mix glycerine with something else (powdered, like baking soda or cornstarch, etc.) to make a paste that you can rub onto an old grease or oil stain on textiles (table linens, shirts) that will remove it. Does anyone know what the substance is that you mix with glycerin?
Posted by: anon1968
Just wanted to kno whether or not glycerin comes from pork? or are some products that use glycerin use different "animals"?
Posted by: anon2003
Can it be used on the scalp to promote hair growth ?
If yes, diluted or undiluted? Posted by: anon2521
In soap making they said, "you can make your own soap using Glycerin "melt and pour soap." but I saw liquid glycerin ready in the store. Can u make soap with liquid glycerin? please help?
Posted by: anon2923
My hands always seem to breakout with little water blisters that itch when I use a product containing glycerin. It doesn't happen all the time? I wonder if it depends on how much glycerin is in the product. This has been happening for years.
Posted by: anon3402
Glycerol has approximately 27 calories per teaspoon and is 60% as sweet as sucrose. Although it has about the same food energy as table sugar, it does not raise blood sugar levels, nor does it feed the bacteria that form plaques and cause dental cavities. Glycerol should not be consumed undiluted, as unhydrated glycerol will draw water from tissues, causing blistering in the mouth and gastric distress. As food additive, glycerol is also known as E number E422.
Posted by: anon3450
my question as embarrassing as is, some stores sell products with glycerin in such as flavored hot gel that people use on one another for intimacy purposes. Someone I know became very ill after having this applied on their body parts. To the point that he nearly passed out. Was it possibly another medical condition or did this lotion, which is hot to the touch, cause him to break into extreme sweat, get dizzy and almost pass out? If so, why sell the product.
Posted by: anon3605
Is glycerin used by watercolourists?
If yes what for? Posted by: anon4752
can glycerin intoxicate you? is it animal derived too?
Posted by: EnviRon
what is the effect of glycerin in the methanization process? we are producing biogas from the methanizer tanks in a composting facility. we would want to maintain a certain temperature to keep the methanogenic bacteria alive. will the addition of glycerin cause these bacteria to hibernate or deactivated?
Posted by: anon5897
What is the BTU value of glycerin?
Posted by: anon6303
Yes, glycerin is used by watercolorists. You can put a small amount on the squeezed paint to keep it from drying out on your palette if you're not painting for a while. Or with a drop of water on the "hard pan" watercolors that you put in travel paintboxes, to help them moisten up more easily when it's time to paint.
Posted by: anon9961
Is there any form of glycerin that is guaranteed to be animal-product free and made completely with vegetable fat? If so, how can one tell on a product's ingredient list to ensure that there are no animal by-products?
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Garry Crystal
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