Denatured alcohol
On the label: Alcohol Denat. · Solvent
What it is
Ethanol made undrinkable; used as a solvent, to help actives penetrate and to make a product feel light and dry fast. High up the list it can be drying for some skin.
Solvents: Solvents dissolve the other ingredients; water is the commonest, followed by alcohols and glycols.
In the research
7 PubMed papers mention it with skin, cosmetics or hair; the three most recent:
- Economic Burden of Denatured Alcohol-Induced Burns: A 20-Year Retrospective Study · Frontiers in medicine, 2022
- Development of a novel method for estimating dermal contact with hand-applied cleaning solutions · Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2020
- Antisepsis of the skin before spinal surgery with povidone iodine-alcohol followed by chlorhexidine gluconate-alcohol versus povidone iodine-alcohol applied twice for the preventio · The bone & joint journal, 2017
A paper is a paper, not a verdict: titles are listed so you can read them, and a study on cells or mice says little about a cream on a face.
Products whose label lists it
5 on the siteMatched from the ingredient list the supplier printed; the position in the list (first or thirtieth) is on each product page.
Made in the USA
Made in the USA
Made in the USA
Made in the USA
Other solvents
Dew & Balm describes ingredients from the public record and makes no claim about what a product will do for you. Statements about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA. If a product causes a reaction, stop using it; a reaction that spreads or affects breathing is a call to a doctor or 911.