Glycerin & Hair - A few facts in plain language

Glycerin (aka glycerol) is a humectant (substance that helps to retain water). Many natural/curly/kinky hair-havers use it in some combination with water and oils as a spritz to moisturize their hair and make/keep it soft. Glycerin also used in some skin and facial moisturizers.

Glycerin works by attracting moisture from its surroundings (hygroscopic), which is great, but can also be… not so great, depending on your environment. You see, if you apply a glycerin spritz on your hair and are in a humid environment, the glycerin will attract water from the air and draw it in to itself (and your hair). That is FABULOUS - curly and kinky hair loves and most importantly needs moisture. But if you are in a dry environment, the glycerin is going to attract water/moisture from elsewhere – your hair. And that’s bad. You’ll end up with a dry, frizzy and for some, crunchy, mess depending how dry the air is.

If you’re thinking about concocting a glycerin mix or already are using one and wondering why it’s drying your hair out ( which is the opposite effect of what you were using it for) then the above stated is what you need to know. Continue reading below for some extra tips and things to keep in mind!

1.) If you search “glycerin” you’ll see results for “glycerin” and “vegetable glycerin”; vegetable glycerin is glycerin from vegetable fat (of course) and just “glycerin” is from animal fat (which animals I can't tell you).

2.) You can buy glycerin in health food stores, online, and I came across a random blog comment where someone said they got it from Wal-Mart. Umm.. I'm pretty sure haven’t seen it it mine – though it could be because I’ve never looked for it... Mm-hmm.

3.) Glycerin by itself is very sticky, so you don’t want to use it alone. There are millions of recipes online, and the basic ones usually call for water and some kind of oil like jojoba, aloe vera, coconut, etc. I will be trying a few mixes this week so I will be hubbing a review on atleast 3 different mixes along with a rundown of the process/technique used to apply and the results. Stay tuned this week for that!

4.) You can’t just rely on the season (time of year) it is to know whether or not is humid outside. IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU LIVE. In some places, humidity does not only exist in the summertime. And it is not always humid in the summertime in some places. Research where you live and its climate to know whether or not using a glycerin sprtiz is good for you. Checking the weather/humidity for the day isn't a bad idea, either.

I will be using NOW Foods veggie glycerine, which I ordered from Amazon. There is a link below under "Product Suggestions."

If you have anything to add or I’ve stated something wrong or you would like offer your glycerin recipe or you just want to comment/ask a question, please leave a comment or email me! Thanks for reading and for your input!

Keep it slick!