please talk to me about glycerin :)

[juliesglory]

i have this 100% olive oil liquid castile soap but am afraid to use it due to the content of glycerin in it that i have heard could draw moisture out from hair to air.

i live in a very humid climate, but am still worried about that happening.

can you talk to me about glycerin, i need to know more about it.
so if any of you have any input then i'd like to hear it :cheese:

also i have heard about some hair that got addicted to the glycerin, and looked awful without it on it... exactly how much glycerin could a 100% olive oil castile soap contain ?
thanks all :)

[Flaxen]

Glycerin is a by-product of the chemical reaction that makes soap in the first place. It's a good thing if the glycerin is left in the final soap product. It makes the soap way less harsh. Natural glycerin in castile soap isn't going to draw moisture out of your hair - mainly because it's all rinsed away.

I don't know if any study has ever shown that glycerin actually draws moisture from hair, but if it's going to happen, it's going to be from a product that's left on the hair, like conditioner or a leave-in. I know when I used a leave-in with a lot of glyceirn, my hair was very soft at first, but then it seemed to get drier over time. It could have been another ingredient, though. :shrug:

[Cassi]

I use a mixture of 3 parts rose water to 1 part glycerin to revitalize my curls (I spray it on). It makes my hair feel soft. I have a book that says mix 1 to 1 but I like the 3 to 1 better. I use it almost every day, and I do not think it is drying. My hair was super dry and is improving now that I found LHC and gotten a few books on how to not ruin my hair! LOL Why I didn't pay attention to my hair sooner totally baffles me! HTH ;)

[juliesglory]

well so far 2 replies with positive results with glycerin... thanks!
any other thoughts anyone? :)

[ravenreed]

I live in an extremely dry part of the U. S. and I used something with glycerin (I think it was tbe defrizzing spray) that made my hair very, very dry. I will not be trying it again unless I move to a more humid part of the world.

[Lamb]

My experience with glycerin is that when used in a leave-in, it can and does draw moisture from the hair. In a very humid atmosphere, however, it helps keep my hair from frizzing out.
In a rinse-out conditioner, it depends on how high it is in the ingredient list. If it's #2, I know I can't use the conditioner on a regular basis.

[ratgirldjh]

Once i used one of those clear glycerine soaps for hair washing a couple of times. This was a soap made with just glycerine.... supposedly anyway ;)

The first time worked great - soft silky shiny hair.

The second time it was much more humid outside and when i would go outside i could feel my hair absorb the moisture in the air and then it became tacky and weird and sticky feeling.

This was after a vinegar rinse too!

However I have no trouble using soaps that have the glycerine retained. Some soaps list the glycerine in the list of ingredients and when you call the company they say that they did not add glycerine but it was just not taken out.

Some however do not take out the glycerine but don't list it...

[juliesglory]

thanks ratgirlldhj you answered all of my qs :D
i still use my olive oil castile soap with retained glycerin and my hair seems just fine so far, i sometimes like to mist it with rosewater and then put it up in a damp bun style.

[jivete]

My hair gets tacky and weird with too much glycerin. I haven't noticed that's it's drying from the conditioner I use, but I do live in a fairly humid climate.

[pelicano]

The UK has a relatively damp climate all the year round, and I'm finding that glycerine works well for me, sprayed on my hair (when soaking wet), diluted with just water.

[juliesglory]

so yeah it looks like the weather has got to be humid when using glycerin :)
or like i said maybe misting hair few times during the day? does anyone else ever do that ?

[pelicano]

so yeah it looks like the weather has got to be humid when using glycerin :)
or like i said maybe misting hair few times during the day? does anyone else ever do that ?

I've tried that, and it does help a little with moisture, but the best effects for me come from putting it on soaking wet hair. It seems to help retain the moisture.

[juliesglory]

oh on soaking wet hair must be the best way for sure, thanks pelicano :)

[ratgirldjh]

thanks ratgirlldhj you answered all of my qs :D
i still use my olive oil castile soap with retained glycerin and my hair seems just fine so far, i sometimes like to mist it with rosewater and then put it up in a damp bun style.

i too use a 100% olive oil castile soap with retained glycerine - this doesn't mean they ADD glycerine - it just means that they didn't take it out - so no glycerine worries!

actually, i even called the company to make sure after my glycerine soap fiasco :D

they told me that they now have to list it as an ingredient since they didn't take it out!!! :p

eta: i also occasionally mist mine with orange flower water! i tried rosewater but my bf said it smelled like dead people LOL ;)

[juliesglory]

i too use a 100% olive oil castile soap with retained glycerine - this doesn't mean they ADD glycerine - it just means that they didn't take it out - so no glycerine worries!

actually, i even called the company to make sure after my glycerine soap fiasco :D

they told me that they now have to list it as an ingredient since they didn't take it out!!! :p

eta: i also occasionally mist mine with orange flower water! i tried rosewater but my bf said it smelled like dead people LOL ;)


I get my olive oil castile soap from country rose soap :)
orange flower water sounds yummy, i'll try that one next time, when i run out of my rose water :)

[K_Angel]

I shared this with the 2a/F thread, but since this seemed the proper place to put a "cautionary tale" I thought I'd post it here too. :grin:

Ok, now I must tell you of a weird hair disaster... Ok, maybe I don't HAVE to tell you... but no one else will know what I mean!!!!! :rollin:

Actually, it's more like a Sesame Street song... "What do you think is going to happen next...."

If one puts tooooooooooooooooooooo much glycerin in their 2a/F hair... do you know what happens??????? You get 2c hair in a massive knotted dry mess, the likes you've never seen before. :doh:

Do you know what the only solution to the problem is?????? Stick your hair in a baggie with excessive water in it, while the glycerin soaks that up for an hour. When the bag dries, feed the glycerin monster again and again and again....... allllllllllllllllllll night long!!!!!!!!! :o

Shesh!!!!!!

So let's all review:

A little gylcerin = good

A lot of glycerin = evil water monster on hair!

[misstwist]

A little tale of looking for glycerin.

I use the stuff to clean wool sweaters and blankets. It's magic for taking away stains.

About a month ago I realized I was out and looked for a bottle at Walgreens when I was in--that's where I bought my last bottle.

Didn't find, asked the manager. He told me Homeland Security prohibits the sale of liquid glycerin because it can be used to make bombs and I just wouldn't find it anyplace.

This smelled of BS to me, after all, that Walgreens had a liquid glycerin Fleet enema. I didn't want to buy that, though, there is other stuff in it.

Went to Wal-Mart. They had two brands of liquid glycerin on the shelves.

I don't know if this Walgreens manager was confusing the product with something else or if he was just high, because Walgreens shows liquid glycerin products on their website.

It was an irritating experience and I got all worked up about security theater nonsense.

Grr.

[K_Angel]

A little tale of looking for glycerin.

I use the stuff to clean wool sweaters and blankets. It's magic for taking away stains.

About a month ago I realized I was out and looked for a bottle at Walgreens when I was in--that's where I bought my last bottle.

Didn't find, asked the manager. He told me Homeland Security prohibits the sale of liquid glycerin because it can be used to make bombs and I just wouldn't find it anyplace.

This smelled of BS to me, after all, that Walgreens had a liquid glycerin Fleet enema. I didn't want to buy that, though, there is other stuff in it.

Went to Wal-Mart. They had two brands of liquid glycerin on the shelves.

I don't know if this Walgreens manager was confusing the product with something else or if he was just high, because Walgreens shows liquid glycerin products on their website.

It was an irritating experience and I got all worked up about security theater nonsense.

Grr.
Actually, you know, that makes me wonder.... because at the local Kmart they had none on the isles... finally I asked the pharmacist and she had to go get it from the medicine area behind the counter????? :shrug:

Who knows, maybe something is up? Always before, I had no problem finding it locally, but lately, I've had to search for the stuff.... Makes one wonder....

[pinchbeck]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but glycerin comes different forms. One is regular glycerin ( a byproduct of soap making or can be a liquid by-product of biodiesel production) and the second is vegetable glycerin. I have vegetable glycerin and am not sure what the differences are in the way it behaves vs. regular glycerin. or if all glycerin for body and hair care is sourced from vegetable oils.

Glycerin is known to absorb moisture from the air which aids in moisturize skin and works better in more humid environments. As far as its presence in hair care products goes it is either rinsed out in the shower or allowed to stay in as a leave in. Many people have great results with it, but I don't know which form of glycerin they're using or if they behave the same way.

My question is how can it benefit hair if it is rinsed out? I understand glycerin benefits the product (it's a solvent and helps keep product from drying our) I am curious about this and hope somebody can answer this! Below is additional information on glycerin:

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/glycerin.html

http://www.soaperschoice.com/soapoils/glycerin.html

[pinchbeck]

I get my olive oil castile soap from country rose soap :)
orange flower water sounds yummy, i'll try that one next time, when i run out of my rose water :)
Orange blossom water smells gorgeous (can be bought affordably at East Indian stores)! I use it as an air freshener and as a base for my hair mists that I make. Neroli oil/abolute comes from orange blossoms and I am thinking of buying some to use as perfume!:cool:

[K_Angel]

Pinchbeck: I'm no expert (see above mishap story :rollin) but I've noticed that when I add glycerin into my sopping wet hair then apply conditioner over that and rinse, that my hair is softer. When I've left that step out, my 2a/F hair doesn't seem as wavy or moistened. :shrug:

So, I can't answer your question, but it does seem to work for some reason...

[K_Angel]

I just thought of another glycerin question...

I want to add it to my hair conditioner dry base. You have to heat the water to steaming then mix.
I'd like to add some hydrolyzed silk to the mix, but it says it doesn't mix with water.

Ok, so I have two questions then.....

1. Since glycerin can mix with water or oil, can I mix the silk powder in with the glycerin and then successfully introduce it to the water based conditioner?

2. When does the glycerin go into the mix? While hot? warm? cool?

TIA! :)

[pinchbeck]

Pinchbeck: I'm no expert (see above mishap story :rollin) but I've noticed that when I add glycerin into my sopping wet hair then apply conditioner over that and rinse, that my hair is softer. When I've left that step out, my 2a/F hair doesn't seem as wavy or moistened. :shrug:

So, I can't answer your question, but it does seem to work for some reason...That is so neat! How much do you use (you have lots of length to cover)? Do you use vegetable glycerin?

[K_Angel]

Humco Glycerin USP is what I use. I get it at the local Kmart. I'm really not sure if it's vegetable or not? I got up and read the bottle but it didn't say. Sorry about that. :(

But anyway, the directions on it say that you have to use a 1:1 ratio of glycerin to water. But since when I'm washing my hair I don't exactly get out the ol' measuring cups.... I put about a generous fat quarter's worth in my hair. But only when it's soppy wet. I figure that way I get that ratio down ok. :)

My hair hoovers between waist and hip. And I have 2a/F/ii hair.

HTH! :blossom:

[Shicurls]

From what i understand, glycerin like honey, is a humectant. Meaning, it draws water into itself. So, I think if you mix it with water and an oil it should help your hair retain water. It is very dependent upon the climate, but I say try it out!

[Crystal2010]

I used glycerin as a substitute for AVG in SMT. I CO'd and did the SMT with exactly the same mixture. But I did use less glycerin than I would have AVG if I'd had some. The results have been great - lots of defined curls and no knots/tangles/wadding that I usually get.

[Teakafrog]

I mix a few drops of glycerine with my aloe/oil/water mix that I mist my hair with. It seems to help keep moisture in longer.

[K_Angel]

I never thought about putting it in a mister bottle.

Hmmmmmmmm, since I have a lot of trouble keeping moisture in my hair... that sounds like a good idea!

Thanks! :)

[Xena]

My hair seems to like glycerine. I get more wavy hair and its very smooth and soft. I use the Earthly Delight Conditioner which has a lot of Glycerine in it. The person that gave me the conditioner didnt like it. She got sticky hair with it. Maybe she had a Build up.

[Aredhel77]

I used glycerin as a substitute for AVG in SMT. I CO'd and did the SMT with exactly the same mixture. But I did use less glycerin than I would have AVG if I'd had some. The results have been great - lots of defined curls and no knots/tangles/wadding that I usually get.

LOL I have used vegetable glycerin (the kind you'd buy to use in cooking) as a substitute for the honey in an SMT. It worked fine. I have also applied the same SMT principle to a leave-in conditioner: my usual amount of the leave in plus a drop or so each of glycerin and aloe, mixed together in my hand and applied as normal. It worked really well and my hair dried very soft :-).

[Intotouch]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and was drawn to it when looking for recipes for shampoo. I'd love to try glycerine as an ingredient but where should i look for it? Chemist/supermarket/gardening shop? I live in Ireland so would have access to a lot of the same bigger shops as the UK.

[DTsgirl]

I would check out Boots. I live in the USA, but I spent a couple months in the UK a while ago, and they have EVERYTHING! I wish we had them here!

[ChloeDharma]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and was drawn to it when looking for recipes for shampoo. I'd love to try glycerine as an ingredient but where should i look for it? Chemist/supermarket/gardening shop? I live in Ireland so would have access to a lot of the same bigger shops as the UK.

I agree with the suggestion to try Boots. Usually it's with the remedies for coughs and colds and flavoured glycerin is sold to take orally. Even my local sainsburys stocks it.

I notice people on this thread seem to use large amounts of glycerin. When i've used it i usually just add a few drops to a DT or in my mister bottle.

[jojo]

89p in Boots in the cough section, its brilliant stuff as long as you only use a drop and not a bucket full, wonderful stuff!

[cooklaezo13]

As mentioned before, the glycerin won't stay in your hair from castille soap, so you don't need to worry about it drawing moisture from your hair. That's only a concern for leave-in products with glycerin.
Castille soap won't work in hard water, so make sure that your water is soft if you are going to use the castille soap. Also use an acidic rinse after you wash out the soap, to close the cuticle of your hair (such as lemon juice rinse, vinegar rinse, or citric acid rinse)