Is there a difference between glycerin and vegetable glycerin??!!

curlykey · 11-11-2008, 06:56 PM

Does anyone know if there is a difference between glycerin (bought at walmart) and vegetable glycerin ...I would like to know before I attempt to make my own gel and use what I have....TIA!

rhosyn_du · 11-22-2008, 11:59 PM

The difference is that vegetable glycerin is made strictly from plant oils, whereas non-vegetable glycerin is made from animal and/or petroleum-based oils. Additionally, most vegetable glycerin you can get at health food stores is food-grade, so it's got a wider range of uses.

curlykey · 11-23-2008, 10:27 PM

thanks so much for the reply...

DEL2C · 04-07-2009, 09:00 AM

Auntnett looks like the theory is correct! There is definitely a difference between the two but how they react to Dew points is still a mystery to me

ninja dog · 04-07-2009, 09:34 AM

This explains so much!

WurlyLox · 04-07-2009, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEL2C

Auntnett looks like the theory is correct! There is definitely a difference between the two but how they react to Dew points is still a mystery to me

Yep, looks like. Didn't know the non-veggie glycerin could contain petroleum-based products - no wonder my hair hates it in products like CK! Neither it nor I like mineral oil, petrolatum, etc., so that explains a lot. The whole dew point/glycerin thing still puzzles me, too.

DEL2C · 04-07-2009, 09:40 AM

I'm tempted to cross post this so we can get some geeks involved!!!!! It's very puzzling indeedy!

mbeckhhp · 04-08-2009, 03:00 AM

cant sleep, full moon. ther is an awesome thread by the curlchemist, just google glycerin. Its a humectant(sp?) anyway, draws moisture to it, in regular humidity, making hair moisturized,springy.In Low dewpoints, highly charged positive ion air, like here in so. cal. we get santa ana winds,they blow off the desert, towards the ocean, tons of static electricity,ahhhhh your hair stands on end,animals go nutty. you get shocked!!!High glycerin products, (I suspect veg. based , also) will exasperate the effect.I think curlkeeper, is veg., derived tho.glycerins, about 4th down on the list.I would get mine from health food store, yu can also use as a sweetner. Agave, and honey work in similar ways.

DEL2C · 04-15-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbeckhhp

cant sleep, full moon. ther is an awesome thread by the curlchemist, just google glycerin. Its a humectant(sp?) anyway, draws moisture to it, in regular humidity, making hair moisturized,springy.In Low dewpoints, highly charged positive ion air, like here in so. cal. we get santa ana winds,they blow off the desert, towards the ocean, tons of static electricity,ahhhhh your hair stands on end,animals go nutty. you get shocked!!!High glycerin products, (I suspect veg. based , also) will exasperate the effect.I think curlkeeper, is veg., derived tho.glycerins, about 4th down on the list.I would get mine from health food store, yu can also use as a sweetner. Agave, and honey work in similar ways.

I think what we're trying to establish is how Veg.Glycerin appears to behave differently in low dews. It seems to still be moisturizing whereas Non-Veg Glycerin can't be tolerated by most in low dew points. CK doesn't appear to be Veg Glyc??

CK Ingredients: DI Water, PVP/VA Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Laureth 23, Glycerin, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, Polyquaternium 10.

morrighu · 04-16-2009, 02:58 PM

Ok, I admit to being a geek. This thread got me curious so I started doing some poking around. If you're using a cheap product, odds are its going to be some wierd combination of glycerins. There's a very good reason for it. I'm quoting from an article in Biodiesel Magazine.

As biodiesel production soars, so does crude natural glycerin. With up to 400 million additional gallons of biodiesel production being built or on the drawing board, it’s clearly evident glycerin is becoming a significant issue..... Meanwhile, the U.S. synthetic glycerin market has taken quite a beating. Synthetic glycerin is petroleum-based, where natural glycerin—such as that produced during biodiesel production—is created from fats and oils. Dow Chemical was once the nation’s only producer of synthetic glycerin. It closed its Freeport, Texas, plant in January, citing—in part—the flood of glycerin from biodiesel production. Dow Chemical still operates a glycerin plant in Germany.

I think that the problem is that much of the glycerin we're seeing on the market may be the result of animal fats and other fats as well as contaminats from the bio-diesel making process itself, which uses a lot of harsh chemicals. With the glut of really cheap glycerin from questionable sources, I think you're likely to see this problem increase not decrease.

WurlyLox · 04-17-2009, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morrighu

Ok, I admit to being a geek. This thread got me curious so I started doing some poking around. If you're using a cheap product, odds are its going to be some wierd combination of glycerins. There's a very good reason for it. I'm quoting from an article in Biodiesel Magazine.

As biodiesel production soars, so does crude natural glycerin. With up to 400 million additional gallons of biodiesel production being built or on the drawing board, it’s clearly evident glycerin is becoming a significant issue..... Meanwhile, the U.S. synthetic glycerin market has taken quite a beating. Synthetic glycerin is petroleum-based, where natural glycerin—such as that produced during biodiesel production—is created from fats and oils. Dow Chemical was once the nation’s only producer of synthetic glycerin. It closed its Freeport, Texas, plant in January, citing—in part—the flood of glycerin from biodiesel production. Dow Chemical still operates a glycerin plant in Germany.

I think that the problem is that much of the glycerin we're seeing on the market may be the result of animal fats and other fats as well as contaminats from the bio-diesel making process itself, which uses a lot of harsh chemicals. With the glut of really cheap glycerin from questionable sources, I think you're likely to see this problem increase not decrease.

To the contrary, since they're from vegetable or animal fats, I'd think the natural glycerins that are a byproduct of the bio-diesel process would be more desirable for hair and skin than the synthetic petroleum-based glycerins like Dow makes. Of course, the sources and quality of the natural glycerins is still an issue, so there need to be quality control standards, if there aren't already.

Since they're so plentiful, hopefully we'll be seeing more of them than the synthetic petroleum-based ones. The fact that those are petroleum based explains why so often I hate glycerins that don't specify that they're vegetable glycerins - my hair hates petroleum-based ingredients.

morrighu · 04-17-2009, 03:19 PM

The problem is that they are contamined with the chemicals from making biodiesel. These things include methanol, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and a whole host of other goodies that are NOT friendly to either hair or skin.

DEL2C · 04-18-2009, 11:56 AM

I'm going to assume that if the product ingredients don't state Vegetable Glycerin specifically then it's going to be a synthetic version. The only time I actually see Vegetable Glycerin is on natural products like DM, KBB and others that are "natural". I also know that in the Summer my Glisten to me Spray made from Veg.Glyc. doesn't work well it makes me POOF whereas CK is that exact opposite. Veg Glycerin seems to be moisturizing if you feel it in your hands it's kind of greasy feeling.

DEL2C · 04-23-2009, 08:08 PM

On my own hair that is....

During the Winter one of my fave things to put on my hair was a Veggie Glyc. Lav.Water Mix. Got rid of frizz and gave me a nice shine. The other day our dews were close to 40 temps were warm 50's humidity high. I did my usual water spritz with a touch of Veggie Glyc. plopped. When I un-plopped my hair was HUGE and POOF GALORE! No need to panic, just grabbed some

Living Proof cream Ingredients:
Water, P/VA Copolymer, PolyfluoroEster, VP/Dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate Copolymer, Glycerin, Myristyl Alcohol, Polyacrylate-13, PEG-8 Stearate, PPG-2 Myristyl Ether Propionate, Polyisobutene, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance, Polysorbate 20, Sorbic Acid

with Glycerin ( not Veggie Glyc ) spritzed my hair again put a nice blob of this stuff in, plopped again. I was left with No Poof or Frizz and had nice defined waves. I've done this 2x with similar weather conditions and had great results.

Flashdance · 05-30-2009, 02:43 AM

So...does anyone feel glycerin purcahsed at CVS (ranged from $5-$6 US) is safe for hair?

loewin · 05-30-2009, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flashdance

So...does anyone feel glycerin purcahsed at CVS (ranged from $5-$6 US) is safe for hair?

If you can actually get it at your local cvs you're lucky. When I walked into my cvs and walgreens asking for glycerin they looked at me like I had a 3rd eyeball or something.

Flashdance · 05-31-2009, 01:49 PM

Goodness Loewin. Most of the time sales ass.

are clueless. Must be the monotony of the store which makes certain retail employees come off brain-dead/ignorant.

If you like- try looking in CVS near the facial cleansers or the lotion. Sometimes it is near Neutrogena & items like that. Other times, it is near the skin care aisle specializing in topical ointments,etc...Sometimes it's in both locations.

They usually place it somewhere difficult to see-ie near the floor of the shelf, aisle. HTH

DEL2C · 06-13-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by auntnett

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEL2C

Auntnett looks like the theory is correct! There is definitely a difference between the two but how they react to Dew points is still a mystery to me

Yep, looks like. Didn't know the non-veggie glycerin could contain petroleum-based products - no wonder my hair hates it in products like CK! Neither it nor I like mineral oil, petrolatum, etc., so that explains a lot. The whole dew point/glycerin thing still puzzles me, too.

http://www.gardenofwisdom.com/emollients.html

http://www.squidoo.com/Vegetable-Gly...-Hair-and-Skin

Vegetable Glycerin is an Emollient-moisturizing and excellent for Coarse hair!

Non Vegetable Glycerin is a Humectant-this explains clearly why Glycerin is drying in very low Winter dew points. Finally the mystery is solved!

DEL2C · 06-14-2009, 07:32 AM

OK did some more poking around and RCC mentioned on Tiffany's forum that technically Vegetable Glycerin is both. I actually didn't think that could be possible

Then I found this description http://www.starwest-botanicals.com/c...able-glycerin/

Glycerine is also used as a humectant, a penetrant, and a softening agent. An effective ingredient in massage preparations, glycerine provides a soothing effect, making the skin supple, while offering a protective action. The emollient and lubricating properties make it very effective for dry and scaly skin.

So I guess you need to play around with your own hair. I know for myself I see a big difference between the 2. Vegetable glycerin is very moisturizing for me!

nunew · 08-18-2009, 05:42 PM

Here is the information I found. If you notice in the conditioners that work well for your co-poos (V05, suave, Organix, Paul Mitchell) all have glycerin as the ingredient and not veg glycerin. So it seems to me they both do the same thing just made different

Humectant - a non-oily ingredient that attracts moisture from the atmosphere, retards evaporation, and helps hold water. Common ones include glycerine, propylene glycol, sorbitol, hyaluronic acid, urea, and lactic acid.

Emollient- having the power of softening or relaxing, as a medicinal substance; soothing, esp. to the skin: emollient lotions for the face.