Kelly asks…I have a question for you. I am considering trying a product by a company called Riversol. I can’t help but notice their ingredients aren’t too exciting. I know there are a lot of concerns around Propylene Glycol and it’s link to cancer and concerns that is the similar to anti-freeze. I know conventional thinking believes that when used in very small amounts in cosmetics it is fine to use. But what if it is the third ingredient? If you are curious, the two ingredients before it are water and mineral oil (followed by petroleum, Cetearyl Alcohol, polysorbate 50 and Beta- thujaplicin (an anti-oxidant derived from cedar trees). What are your thoughts on this ingredient so high up on the ingredient list. It sure seems hydrating (and potentially pore clogging) based on my junior detective work.
Left Brain enlightens:
While there are a lot of Internet concerns about Propylene Glycol, scientists and toxicologists do not have any concerns. There is no evidence linking propylene glycol to cancer. In fact, propylene glycol is so safe it is a GRAS material (generally recognized as safe). You can see more about the actual evidence of propylene glycol here.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/egpg/propylene_glycol.html
The problem with doing detective work on the Internet is that anybody can write anything and any topic. If you do not know a subject well enough you can easily be fooled or mislead. Many “natural” companies rely on fear and misinformation to make you avoid buying perfectly safe products put out by their competitors. It’s really unfortunate but fear is a compelling way to get you to buy a product.
Internet “Research”
If you are going to research things on the Internet you should remain skeptical of anything you read, and be sure to get all sides of an argument. When you see a claim like “propylene glycol causes cancer” investigate it further. Look for people who make the counter claim. Read their arguments for why it is not true.
Always remember that there are people in the world who are trying to trick you. Usually, these people are trying to sell you something (like a product free from propylene glycol). But there are also people who are smarter than you on any given topic. The research you do on the Internet should not be seen as equivalent to the real work of scientists and professional researchers.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
In our opinion, when in doubt trust the majority of scientific opinion. The majority of scientific opinion on Propylene Glycol is that it is a safe ingredient and will have no harmful effects when used in cosmetic products. We’ve seen no compelling evidence to dispute that view.
Loading ...
{ 1 trackback }
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Really great points. So much information is used as a marketing tool. We must research, research & research.
Beauty Brains,
I enjoy your site and read it almost daily. This article brought back a question that I had about you. I know you are “scientists”, and it seems you want to remain anonymous, but could you list your combined credentials in some sort of curriculum vitae? Anyone can claim to be anything out here in the nethernet…
Respectfully (and always skeptically) yours.
There are data suggesting that propylene glycol is a skin sensitizer, so I wouldn’t say there are NO concerns, just none associated with cancer.
Propylene glycol is safe for ingestion even, it’s used as a laxative (miralax)
Multiple studies have shown it’s safe…and the FDA agrees. I side with them.
Propylene glycol is in lots of things. I bet we are all putting some on our skin and even swallowing it in things like toothpaste.
I understand that because propylene glycol and ethylene glycol sound similar (and they are chemically related) that there is an assumption that they have similar toxicity. However, if you eat propylene glycol your body converts it to pyruvic acid which is a compound that your body naturally makes and uses for energy. Ethylene glycol is converted by the body to oxalic acid, a strong acid, which is toxic to the body.
Pretty much everything is poisonous if we consume enough of it. Drinking too much water will kill you.
I agree with Jackie!!!!
I love your site, BUT…how do we know that you aren’t in cahoots with Big Oil (you seem to love petroleum)
There is an article in ICIS Chemical Business that might be of interest to you…..
EWG warns of dioxin in cosmetics. By: Cozier, Muriel, ICIS Chemical Business, 19375786, 2/26/2007, Vol. 2, Issue 55
Jenny, I’m pretty sure that if the BBs were in cahoots with Big Oil, they wouldn’t have these questionable ads on the side of the page… no offense to the BBs.
Miralax is not propylene glycol. Rather, it is polyethylene glycol. There is a distinction. Polyethylene glycol is polymerized antifreeze, which is about 600 times heavier than the toxic antifreeze molecule.
Do you know that it is a food grade and allowed to be use as a food additive? So it is generally recognized as SAFE!!!
That’s a good tip. Don’t just google a claim. Google for keywords that dispute the claim.
Hello. For myself glycol and it’s derivatives are terrible. I learnt this the hard way by losing large chuncks of my hair after using a hair product with 10% glycol. Any moisturizer or creams with this product will as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow cause redness and irritation more dependin on concentration.
I was told by my doctor that over 2% of people have some reaction mild to moderate to these chemicals. And that the number could even be higher than 10% unknowingly to consumers.
As far as cancer, I agree with the science I just wish it wasn’t in just about every product.