There are many misconceptions surrounding alcohol, particularly in beauty industry. Many believe that alcohol used in skincare is similar to alcohol used in alcoholic beverage industry (khamar). In response to that, removing alcohol from ingredients is a crucial step for beauty companies to win a market share in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. On top of that, a lot of people blame alcohol for causing dryness, irritation and skin inflammation.

Can companies actually eliminate alcohol entirely from their products?

Before the topic gets deeper, let’s set the record straight. There are many types of alcohol. Alcohol is an umbrella term for a group of chemical compound – ethanol, isopropyl, cetyl, cetearyl and methanol, to name a few.

The alcohol we usually encounter in alcoholic drinks is fermented from cassava, sugar or starch. This type of alcohol is called ethyl alcohol or ethanol. It is classified as haram because it is produced for alcoholic beverage (khamar) industry.

Ethanol in alcoholic beverage causes intoxication and liver damage when excessively consumed in the long run. Hence why it’s haram. Meanwhile, alcohol used in topical medicine, antiseptic, skincare and cosmetics are formed with different component.

In short, ethanol is alcohol but not every alcohol is ethanol. Not every alcohol causes intoxication and this is where the confusion and misconception begin.

“The type of ethanol used for skincare, cosmetics and perfume is denatured ethanol, which means the alcohol has been made unfit for consumption and turned into ordinary alcohol. People often get mixed up here. It is haram if the manufacturer uses ethanol produced for khamar industry,” said PT Lautan Luas Tbk Development Manager Nyssa Adriana.

“Ethanol is a solvent compound. Take, for example, perfume. Most of aromatic substances will only dissolve if it is mixed with ethanol,” she further explained.

Another misconception, according to Nyssa, is thinking that cetyl alcohol and cetearyl alcohol will completely replace denatured ethanol. A lot of people believe the reason why cetyl alcohol and cetearyl alcohol are classified as halal is because they were derived from plants like coconut or palm oil.

“Cetyl alcohol is solid and has a round shape with wax-like texture. It definitely doesn’t dissolve and cannot fully replace ethanol. Chemist usually uses ethanol-like alcohol, such as isopropyl alcohol, to replace denatured ethanol” the pharmaceutical graduate explained.

“Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used to clean wounds. It’s also one of the chemicals used to denature ethanol,” said Nyssa.

In summary, the functions of each alcohol are:

1.     Denatured ethyl alcohol or ethanol - Denatured ethanol is a solvent component that blends every ingredient together. It has antibacterial property that is widely used in antiseptic.

2.     Isopropyl alcohol - Has similar function to denatured ethanol, solvent and antibacterial. This type of alcohol is also used to eliminate the alcoholic property of ethanol and turn ethanol into denatured ethanol.

3.     Cetyl and cetearyl alcohol - Cetyl and cetearyl alcohol are used to form emulsion on products like cream and lotion. They are solid with wax-like figure, which means cetyl and cetearyl cannot dissolve ingredients.

Three of the alcohols mentioned above have one similarity. Neither of them can be consumed nor cause intoxication. Consuming them will cause fatal consequences that lead to death.

On the other hand, when it comes to beauty purpose, it remains a debatable issue whether alcohol does more harm or safe for skin. Some say they avoid any skincare and cosmetics that contain alcohol at all cost, while some find no issue with alcohol content.

Bioré UV Aqua Rich SPF50+ sunscreen, for instance. Alcohol comes second in its ingredients list – the amount of the first five ingredients on the list is higher than other ingredients listed after them – but it garners a 4.3-star rating on Female Daily. On beauty e-commerce Sociolla, the sunscreen receives a 4.5-star rating from 3,829 voters. 

This further proves that it is difficult to categorise every alcohol in the same basket as it serves different purposes and gives variety of results.

“You can take out denatured alcohol from beauty ingredients but the feel and texture of the product will change. Regardless of the dryness claim, many Indonesian consumers love the sensory created by denatured ethanol in beauty products like light sunscreen, toner, face toner and hair tonic.”

The Finery Report is committed to present facts without bias and personal sentiment. All quotes are published with the consent of the source.