Glycerin is a very popular ingredient when it comes to the beauty and skincare industry. Many beauty brands use glycerin for skin whitening in their products. However, the question arises, is glycerin good for your skin? Is it safe? Does glycerin help in skin whitening? How can you use glycerin for skin whitening at home naturally? What precautions you should take while applying glycerin to your skin? We will bring all these concerns to light and answer all your question related to glycerin and skincare.

What is Glycerin?

Glycerin is also known by the term glycerol. It’s an odorless, colorless liquid that forms naturally when sugars are fermented with alcohol. Glycerin is a food and beverage component that helps retain moisture and softness. Due to its moisture-retaining virtue, it is now widely used in skincare products as well. Although, few companies use synthetic glycerin in their products. However, you can use natural glycerin for skin whitening with various other natural ingredients at home.

Is Glycerin Good for Your Skin?

Glycerin is beneficial to the skin since it is a humectant, which means it helps the skin retain moisture. It also helps to hydrate the skin, reduce dryness, and rejuvenate the skin. It performs as an emollient as well, which helps to moisturize and soften the skin. Glycerin also contains antibacterial qualities, which helps to protect the skin from pathogens that are detrimental to it.

What are the Benefits of Applying Glycerin to Your Skin?

Glycerin has numerous skin-care benefits, regardless of whether you have oily, sensitive, or dry skin. Given below is the list of benefits of using glycerin for your skincare –

• Glycerin acts as a natural emollient to keep your skin hydrated.
• Glycerin helps to heal scars and damaged skin.
• Glycerin helps to rebuild skin tissues.
• Skin infections can be treated with glycerin.
• Glycerin aids in reducing wrinkles and fine lines.

The usage of glycerin is not just limited to your face and can be beneficial for other parts of the body as well, for instance,

• Glycerin assists in the recovery of dry heels and hands.
• It also helps in softening the chapped lips.
• Glycerin helps prevent dandruff and treat dry, itchy scalp

Can you Use Glycerin for Skin Whitening?

The ability to hydrate and protect the skin is what makes glycerin so popular. The humectant qualities of glycerin help hydrate your skin. Proper hydration makes your skin soft and easier to exfoliate. The removal of dead skin cells is referred to as exfoliation. Removal of these dead skin cells helps reduce dark spots and blackheads as well as brighten up your skin texture. And because of these benefits, many beauty and skincare companies use glycerin for skin whitening.

How Can You Use Glycerin for Skin Whitening at Home?

Glycerin itself is a great ingredient to moisturize, exfoliate, and/or reduce blackheads, dark spots, or scars. However, if combined with other natural ingredients you can use glycerin for skin whitening. Glycerin, when used with other natural products such as lemon, cucumber, rose water, honey, and turmeric, can help cleanse and revitalize dull, dry skin and make your skin softer.

Here, is the list of the recipes that you can use at home:

Licorice, Rosewater, and Glycerin pack: Mix one tbsp of glycerin, 1 tbsp of rose water, and 1 tbsp of licorice powder. You can add some more rose water to adjust the consistency and make a paste. Spread all over face and neck. Wait for 15 minutes then rinse with cool water. Licorice has excellent skin-lightening properties and also helps reduce acne marks.

Cucumber and Glycerin pack: Combine two spoonfuls of cucumber juice or paste with a few drops of glycerin in a small mixing bowl. Make a paste out of it and apply it to your face. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes before washing it with water. Glycerin and cucumber work together to hydrate and moisturize the skin. This face pack can help you treat pimples scars, pigmentation, dark circles, and uneven skin tone.

Honey and Glycerin pack: Add two spoonfuls of honey, one spoon of lemon juice, and a few drops of glycerin in a bowl. Leave this face pack on your face for about 15-20 minutes. Then, with cold water, cleanse your face. This pack is excellent for those who want to treat fine lines and keep their skin hydrated at the same time.

Milk cream, Turmeric, and Glycerin pack: Using a dropper, add a few drops of glycerin in a bowl. After that, stir in the turmeric and milk cream. Make sure to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients. Apply the face mask and wait for at least 20 minutes before washing it off. Use lukewarm water to wash your face. Turmeric has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory qualities, making it useful for treating acne and pimple scars. Both milk cream and turmeric help in the brightening of your skin and the reduction of discoloration.

You may also like to read: 5 Carrot Face Pack Recipes For An Instant Party Glow

 What Precautions You Should Take While Using Glycerin for Skin Whitening?

Even though glycerin is suitable for all skin types. It is always advisable to conduct a patch test to determine sensitivity before using glycerin for face whitening. Apply a small amount of glycerin to a patch of your skin and wait 24 hours to see if any reaction occurs. The following are examples of possible negative effects: redness, irritation, swelling, and itching.  Also, instead of using pure glycerin directly on your face, it is advised to dilute it with water first.

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18510666/