Isopropyl Alcohol: How BAD is it?

[Arwenlily]

Recently I've been looking for a good LI for my 3a/3b hair. I stumbled upon Loreal EverCurl HydraCharge Leave-In Cream. However, one of the ingredients is isopropyl alcohol. Isn't isopropyl rubbing alcohol which is drying to hair? How bad is it really? Should I be worried about using this LI?

[Ms. Littlefish]

If it's way, way low on the ingredient list it probably is used as a preservative or solvent but it potentially could still dry the hair out. The problem with isopropyl alcohol is that it is very drying, which of course over time is very damaging on the hair. The higher up it is on the list, the further away I would stay.

[Arwenlily]

If it's way, way low on the ingredient list it probably is used as a preservative but it potentially could still dry the hair out. The problem with isopropyl alcohol is that it is very drying, which of course over time is very damaging on the hair. The higher up it is on the list, the further away I would stay.

It's about tenth on the list and there are about 30 ingredients, would that mean there is a significant amount?

[Anje]

10th ingredient can't be more than 1/10th of the total and is probably a lot less. If I had to hazard a guess, it would be that it's in there to dissolve something that otherwise wouldn't stay in solution. It might also help the leave-in to stop being liquidy after it's applied, via evaporation.

How bad is it? It's drying to hair, just like it's drying to skin. It's not going to react horribly with your hair or anything (at least, it better not), but I'd say that it might be worth keeping an eye on. If you notice increased dryness, it's worth suspecting.

[Arwenlily]

10th ingredient can't be more than 1/10th of the total and is probably a lot less. If I had to hazard a guess, it would be that it's in there to dissolve something that otherwise wouldn't stay in solution. It might also help the leave-in to stop being liquidy after it's applied, via evaporation.

How bad is it? It's drying to hair, just like it's drying to skin. It's not going to react horribly with your hair or anything (at least, it better not), but I'd say that it might be worth keeping an eye on. If you notice increased dryness, it's worth suspecting.

Thank you for your input :) Most likely what I'll do is try it out, see how it feels in my hair and watch for drying. IG I notice any drying, I'll stop using it and look for something else.

[Ylva]

This is an old thread, but it came up through a Google search of mine, so I'll use it to ask a question.

Is there any difference between isopropyl alcohol and alcohol denat. when it comes to which one of those is worse/more drying to the hair?

[egcmi]

This is an old thread, but it came up through a Google search of mine, so I'll use it to ask a question.

Is there any difference between isopropyl alcohol and alcohol denat. when it comes to which one of those is worse/more drying to the hair?

Denaturated alcohol according to Wikipedia:

Denatured alcohol [...] is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad-tasting, foul-smelling, or nauseating to discourage recreational consumption. It is sometimes dyed. [...] Denatured alcohol is used as a solvent and as fuel for alcohol burners and camping stoves. Because of the diversity of industrial uses for denatured alcohol, hundreds of additives and denaturing methods have been used. The main additive has traditionally been 10% methanol [...]. Other typical additives include isopropyl alcohol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and denatonium. Denaturing alcohol does not chemically alter the ethanol molecule. Rather, the ethanol is mixed with other chemicals to form an undrinkable solution. For many of these solutions, there is no practical way to separate the components.

Since denaturated alcohol is mostly (up to 90%) ethanol:

Ethanol is used in medical wipes and most commonly in antibacterial hand sanitizer gels as an antiseptic. Ethanol kills organisms by denaturing their proteins and dissolving their lipids [...]. Hydrogen bonding causes pure ethanol to be hygroscopic to the extent that it readily absorbs water from the air. [...] Pure ethanol will irritate the skin and eyes.

Isopropyl alcohol:

Isopropyl alcohol [...] is a colorless, flammable chemical compound with a strong odor. [...] It is used in the manufacture of a wide variety of industrial and household chemicals, and is a common ingredient in chemicals such as antiseptics, disinfectants and detergents. [...] Isopropyl alcohol is miscible in water, ethanol, ether, and chloroform. It will dissolve ethyl cellulose, polyvinyl butyral, many oils, alkaloids, gums and natural resins. [...] Isopropyl alcohol is used as a water-drying aid. [...] isopropyl alcohol provides a comparatively non-toxic alternative to formaldehyde and other synthetic preservatives. [...] Isopropyl alcohol is a skin irritant.

I don't know which one is worse hair-wise. They are both toxic and should not be taken internally. In addition they are both irritant to the skin. Interestingly, they are both used in hand sanitizers. I didn't like them before but I'll keep away from them now. Both alcohols are drying. From what I understood they are both used in hair products as solvents/mixing agents, for their drying properties (e.g. leave in products that need to evaporate quickly on the hair and/or help cut down (blow-)drying time) and preservatives (because they combat excess humidity and kill bacteria). Personally I would try to avoid both of them if possible, especially if they are in products I use on my skin and/or leave in my hair. I think for shampoos they are ok if they aren't high up in the ingredient list, I'd say no higher than 10th ingredient from the top, just to be sure. I don't keep shampoo on my hair for a long time, I only use it once a week for less than a minute and my hair is anyway moisturised by the water in the shower. I would avoid them in (both regular and deep) conditioners, as I keep those on for a long time while I do all other shower things, and would also avoid them in leave-in products that are meant to keep hair moisturised. If my goal were to speed up hair drying then by all means I would use it. I have also read that they are good in heat protectants, as the shorter drying time equals less exposure to heat. I'm not sure which one is the most drying, but it is mentioned on Wikipedia that isopropyl alcohol is used to prevent swimmer's ear. I'm a swimmer and it happens to me all the time that my ear is full of water and it just won't come out: if a few drops of isopropyl alcohol can dry all of it up then it's probably strong. Not gonna try it though as I don't want to irritate my ears. Probably the best way to determine which is most drying is to experiment and mix them with water and see what happens. Although I don't recommend trying it at home as it is potentially hazardous, especially the fumes from isopropy alcohol. Maybe someone already did this experiment. I guess I'll have to do more research :hmm:

Thanks Ylva for the question, I though I just didn't know and couldn't reply at first but it prompted me to go more in depth. HTH! :flower:

[Ylva]

Thank you egcmi for your answer! Since they evaporate quickly, I assume they don't do any more harm once they are gone? So if they hair doesn't end up feeling dry very soon after, I suppose the good stuff in whatever it was in was good enough to counteract the dryness?

[illicitlizard]

Thank you egcmi for your answer! Since they evaporate quickly, I assume they don't do any more harm once they are gone? So if they hair doesn't end up feeling dry very soon after, I suppose the good stuff in whatever it was in was good enough to counteract the dryness?

At least wrt hand sanitiser, alcohol based ones are good specifically because the effects don't linger. So possibly would be the same for hair?

[Ylva]

At least wrt hand sanitiser, alcohol based ones are good specifically because the effects don't linger. So possibly would be the same for hair?

Yeah, it could be! Hair and skin are surprisingly similar in how they function, even though completely different. :)