What are the benefits of Triethanolamine in skin care

Triethanolamine in skin care is a chemical compound which can be found in skin care products such as shampoos, body washes, soaps and more. It's a derivative of ethanolamine and it is used as an emulsifier or surfactant to stabilize the product. This ingredient might also help skin care regimens protect the skin by preventing bacteria growth on the surface of the skin or keeping nutrients inside of the epidermal layer of your skin through increased moisture content in your skin barrier.

Benefits

1. Surfactant and emulsifier

It is a surfactant which can be used as an emulsifier. This ingredient helps form more uniform and smaller particles that result to more effective cleansing, less product needed and easier rinsing. This ingredient is also useful in the treatment of acne-prone skin because it prevents bacteria from growing on the surface of your skin.

2. Skin barrier protection

The chemical has been shown to have similar properties like ceramides, which are lipids that enhance your skin barrier's ability to retain moisture through proper protein levels inside the epidermal layer of your skin. If your epidermal layer is dehydrated, bacteria can easily enter the skin barrier and subsequently cause skin infections which are referred to as acne. By improving the integrity of your skin barrier, Triethanolamine in skin care can help prevent bacteria growth on the surface of your skin.

3. Moisturizing benefits

This helps retain moisture and nutrients inside the epidermal layer of your skin through increased moisture content in your skin barrier and by preventing bacteria growth on the surface of your skin. This ingredient can also help make your skin more resistant to damage from free radicals by helping kill off the free radicals before they can penetrate the skin.

4. Thickeners and solvents

Aside from its surfactant and emulsifier properties, It can also act as thickeners and solvents that are used to prevent ingredients from separating or to keep new ingredients properly dispersed. It can help treat acne-prone skin by keeping the retinol inside your skin care product and preventing it from clogging the pores on your skin.

5. Preservative

It has also been shown to have preservative properties that can be used for preventing the growth of bacteria and fungi in your skin care products. This ingredient can also help prevent mildew from growing on the surface of your skin care products

6. Sunscreen/Bug repellent

It works as a natural sunscreen by protecting your skin from free radicals in the sun. This ingredient can also act as a bug repellent by attracting dust and dirt particles to the surface of your product and helping to draw them closer to the surface of your skin.

7. Skin cooling agent

It works as a cooling agent in skin care products which is why it can be found in products that target acne-prone skin. This ingredient thankfully does not have any drying effects on your skin but it can promote product spread ability, emulsification and better foaming.

Disadvantages

1. Skin burn and allergic reaction

Some people might experience an itchy, bumpy or other rash-like symptoms when they use products with it, which suggests that this ingredient is possibly harmful to their skin. The chemical might also cause mild discomfort for some people in the form of mild burning sensation. This property is also seen with other ingredients like salicylic acid.

2. Potential cancer-causing agent

Triethanolamine might cause to cancer and reproductive toxicity if inhaled or ingested in high amounts. However, the concentration is low in topical skin care products and this compound will not have a significant effect on your health unless you are exposed to it in large amounts. Also, there has been no research showing that it can cause cancer when used as an ingredient in topical skin care products.

In conclusions, triethanolamine in skin care can be a potential cancer-causing agent and it can cause skin irritation and allergies. However, few scientific and clinical researches have made connections between this ingredient and health problems. More studies should be conducted in order to get a better understanding of how this ingredient works on acne-prone skin and how safe it really is for skin care products. It is good to know that this ingredient is in almost all of the skin care products that you can purchase in your local market so you should not worry about it.