Alcohol on the label: the two kinds, and why only one counts

The word alcohol shows up in two very different places on cosmetic labels, and the confusion costs people good products. Here is the split.

Drying alcohols

These are the small, fast-evaporating alcohols: Alcohol Denat, Alcohol, SD Alcohol 40-B, Ethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol. Formulators use them to dissolve perfume, to make a product feel light, and to help it dry quickly on the skin. They are common in toners, perfumes, hair sprays, some sunscreens and most hand sanitisers.

This is the group people mean when they look for an alcohol-free product. High up the list, it can feel tight or stinging on dry or reactive skin. Low on the list, most people never notice it.

Fatty alcohols

Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Lanolin Alcohol. These are waxy solids, usually made from vegetable oils. They thicken creams, keep the oil and water from separating, and leave a soft, cushioned feel. They are the opposite of drying. A moisturiser with Cetearyl Alcohol in its top five ingredients is a rich moisturiser, not a harsh one.

Because they are chemically alcohols, the name is technically correct. Because they behave like waxes, counting them as alcohol on a label makes no sense.

Two more that are neither

• Benzyl Alcohol is a preservative and a scent component. It is not a fatty alcohol and it is not a drying alcohol.
• Phenoxyethanol is a preservative. The name ends in ethanol, but it is a different molecule and does not belong to either group.

What we check

On Skincare Check the alcohol-free answer looks only for the drying group. When a product lists Cetearyl Alcohol we say so in a note, and we still call it alcohol-free. When it lists Alcohol Denat, the answer is no, and we name the ingredient that decided it.

How to read a list quickly

Look for the word alcohol standing alone or next to Denat, SD, Ethyl or Isopropyl. Those count. If the word comes after Cetyl, Cetearyl, Stearyl, Behenyl or Lanolin, it does not.