Glycerin

How do you apply it and what kind of substance is it?

And what does it do for your hair?!

I'm really curious!

Glycerin is a humectant meaning it attracts moisture. In terms of hair during the humid months of spring and summer glycerin pulls moisture from the air into your hair. During the cold winter months it does the opposite if you use it on your hair. The dry air will pull the moisture from your hair leaving it dry and fragile.

In my personal experience glycerin has given my curls added fluffiness and definition. In addition to the other products I use it helps keep my curls defined.

I add it to to my hair spritz which can consists of a number of things depending on how I'm feeling but the most basic mix being just water and glycerin. I'd spray it on my twists, afro, or whatever hairstyle I'm going for. During the summer my afro was nice and juicy as I like to say. It wasn't dry and my hair stayed super soft and moisturized.

Here's a post curlynikki had on her site: The Truth About Glycerin

I have recently become a fan of glycerin. I use in a similar way as Afrikana. I mix with water and spritz on my hair in the mornings. That mixed with KBB hair milk and a little EVCO leaves my hair feeling soft and moisturized throughout the day.

I use it as a spritz mixed with a little conditioner and more water only when co-washing during the summer. Because, as AfrikanLatina stated, it'll dry my hair out in the winter. It does make my hair nice and soft though if it's over 65 degees outside.

my hair loves some glycerin lol

you can also mix kosher vegetable glycerin with shea butter and a lil olive or coconut oil to make smooth butter...

Good to hear girls. Now I just mix it with caster oil, still need to buy mango butter and shea butter!

can you shelf the mixture or do you just throw it out and make more when the seasons change??

good question shycurl Id like to know that too,lol because me and my girl just bought some not knowing this thing about the seasons ... and we live in Chicago so its FREEEEEZING.

Nubianactress wrote:good question shycurl Id like to know that too,lol because me and my girl just bought some not knowing this thing about the seasons ... and we live in Chicago so its FREEEEEZING.

Im just 4 hours away in Michigan, its freezing here too!!!

Hi!

Question... is there a difference between veggie glycerin and glycerin? I got some plain "glycerin" today from a West Indian food store, and the ingredients are "100% glycerin." It was only 2.99, so I got it, lol.

Regular glycerin derives from animal fat or animal oils and veggie glycerin drives from plant oils. Vegetable glycerin seems to behave normally in low dew points - is still moisturizing - and regular glycerin cannot tolerate low dew points.

Since I live in NC.. it is humid here in the summers, more so after the rain. Humidity causes my hair to frizz. We don't have bad winters and my hair is already oily. My question is since Glycerin is a humectant, would that cause more frizz?

I can't seem to find glycerin in stores anywhere, only online. Has anyone had success finding them locally?

NaturallyPrecious wrote:I can't seem to find glycerin in stores anywhere, only online. Has anyone had success finding them locally?

Whole Foods, though I'm sure other health food stores have it too.

Thanks Jcanalena - I was looking in the wrong places obviously. Vitamin Shop and CVS and such.

NaturallyPrecious wrote:Thanks Jcanalena - I was looking in the wrong places obviously. Vitamin Shop and CVS and such.

I'm surprised Vitamin Shoppe didn't have it ... they usually carry that type of thing. I got my pure aloe vera there, vitamin e, etc. Maybe they were out of stock? I love that place!

NaturallyPrecious wrote:Thanks Jcanalena - I was looking in the wrong places obviously. Vitamin Shop and CVS and such.

CVS sells glycerin. But it's not in the hair care section. It's in the skin care section around items like Bio Oil etc. I'm not sure if it's synthetic, vegetable, or animal glycerin, though.

I wanna say I have seen it in Walmart as well-

In the pharmacy section.

Has anyone here tried Oyin Handmade's Juices-n-Berries? It draws moisture to my hair like bees to honey. However, I've never tried "straight" glycerin, but I think if I did, my hair would always feel like it's wet, which is sometimes not a good thing LOL...

Question: I live in South Jersey. What has been everyone's experience in the winter as far as moisturizing goes? When I first started using it, it was already April so the bitter cold was gone, but I think glycerin does my hair good and can't picture myself not using it

@jerseygurlwithdacurls (love that ID name [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] ):
Glycerin is the one humectant that can be used in dry conditions.
If glycerin is already saturated with water (i.e. mixed with water before application to your hair), then in dry conditions it doesn't have the same effect as other humectants which is to suck water out of your hair if there isn't any moisture in the air to grab. See the link AfrikanLatina gave above, which gives a short explanation by the author at Natural Haven blog, a scientist who is figuring out all the whats and whys of hair care for us. I started using a glycerin & distilled water mix because I was having trouble with my HG conditioner while traveling during winter in an unfamiliar climate. It really saved me, returning my hair to a soft state. I start every day with a couple of sprays then a sealer, and my hair stays softer longer.

@Mimi, as far as what it is and how to apply it - vovo explained that it can be made from different things and I too have read that vegetable glycerin is the best for hair, but for all varieties its texture is like a runny corn syrup. To apply it you need to at least mix it with water to saturate it, but can add any number of other things according to your taste. Here's a link to the Natural Haven blog article Glycerin: Good stuff in a runny form! about the benefits of glycerin, and why to mix it with water.

thanx gado-gago gal! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]