Glycerin: The Anti-Aging Moisturizer That Restores Elasticity to the Delicate Eye Area

Chrissy is a free-lance writer who loves cosmetics, fragrances, and bath and body products.

What is Glycerin?

Glycerin is a natural, anti-aging substance used for the treatment of loss of elasticity, wrinkles, dryness, dark circles, and puffiness in the delicate eye area.

Glycerin is a sweet, clear, odorless, thick liquid extracted from plant or animal fats. It is a natural substance that exists in all fats and oils and, due to its anti-aging and non-irritating qualities, should be an included on the ingredient list of any anti-wrinkle eye treatments purchased.

What is the Origin of Glycerin?

Glycerin was first discovered by Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Sheele in 1783 when he extracted it from an olive oil. Sheele referred to it as "the sweet principal of fat." It was first developed into a soap by French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul in 1811. It was Chevreul who gave it the name "glycerin". In the late 1950s, glycerin became a treatment for glaucoma of the eyes. Today, modern science has proven its effectiveness as an anti-aging remedy. Glycerin is used in luxurious soaps, moisturizing lotions, and anti-aging skin treatments due to its skin conditioning properties.

What Effects Does Glycerin Have on the Skin of the Eye Area?

The delicate eye area is one of the first places where signs of aging begin to appear. The skin in the eye area is extremely thin and becomes thinner with age. This area has very little underlying fat, and what fat it does have loses its plumpness with age. Thinning makes the skin appear translucent (almost see through) revealing a bluish or reddish tint from blood vessels under the skin. Other factors for aging are dryness, which damages elasticity, inflammation, which causes swelling, and facial expressions, which can leave lines. Thin skin, little underlying fat, damage due to dryness, inflammation, and facial expressions make the eye area highly susceptible to aging (dark circles, puffiness from irritation, and crease lines). Glycerin thickens skin, restores elasticity, restores moisture, and is an anti-irritant.

Additionally, as skin ages the skin's epidermal (topmost) layer becomes lacking in what is called AQP3 (aquaporin-3). A deficiency in AQP3 results in dryness of the skin and loss of elasticity. AQP3 is a water/glycerol (glycerin) transporter within the skin. Topical (external) glycerin replacement through the use of a cream (a thick, liquid cosmetic preparation) or serum (a highly concentrated but thin-appearing cream or liquid) can help to correct a deficiency of AQP3 in aging skin.

How Does Glycerin Improve the Skin of the Eye Area?

Glycerin works to prevent and reverse aging by providing moisture to the skin and forming a protective moisture barrier on the skin's surface. Glycerin lubricates the skin, draws moisture up toward the skin's surface, and holds moisture in the skin. Restoring and holding moisture in the skin improves the elasticity of the skin and plumps out lines and creases. A 2003 Denmark study demonstrated that glycerin restored elasticity (resilience) to the skin after only 10 minutes from application.

A 1988 study published in the Journal of Dermatology stated that glycerin reduced redness and irritation. This could relieve some of the puffiness and swelling associated with inflammation in the eye area.

Because glycerin is found in the skin naturally, it is considered a "skin identical" ingredient (an ingredient that is the same as a substance already found in the skin). Glycerin lubricates the intercellular matrix of the skin which means it fills the spaces in between the tissues responsible for holding the skin's shape and providing smoothness to the skin's texture. This will plump out facial expression lines.

Glycerin aids in the regeneration of skin cells and increases skin cell turnover by keeping the skin cell renewal cycle moving forward. Fresh new skin cells replace damaged aging skin cells. Multiple studies have demonstrated that glycerin increases the thickness of corneocyte skin cells (a type of skin cell found in the outer epidermal layer of the skin). Improving skin thickness in the thinning eye area will reduce the look of dark circles.

Who Would Benefit From an Eye Product Containing Glycerin?

Persons who would benefit from an anti-aging treatment with glycerin in it are those who have or wish to prevent loss of elasticity, dark circles, puffiness, and facial expression lines such as crow's feet in the eye area.

Why is Glycerin Significant?

Glycerin is important as an anti-wrinkle, "skin-identical" substance to restore elasticity to the delicate eye area, creating more supple and beautiful skin and re-establishing the proper moisture balance.

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Glycerin is a natural, fatty substance that combats loss of elasticity, thinning, wrinkles, dark circles, puffiness, and dryness of the delicate skin in the eye area. It plumps the skin of the eye area, regenerates fresh new skin cells, and reduces irritation which can cause puffiness. Glycerin should be on the ingredient list of any anti-aging eye care skin treatment purchased.

© 2014 Chrissy Candace

Comments

Cheryl on April 29, 2019:

VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, does not make dark spots darker...it will lift the hyper-pigmentation. It also made my black hair, turn brown.

Tressie Dawson on February 15, 2018:

Nice post! Using glycerine on the daily basis can help your skin smoother and prevents other problems linked with dryness.

Chris Walker on January 23, 2017:

Your definition of glycerine is wrong. Glycerine is the backbone of fats, but should have no fatty acids in it, because they got taken off, to make it.

Nicole Farish on November 22, 2016:

If you are looking for a great eye cream I highly recommend checking out Solvaderm! They have an amazing eye cream that can help with wrinkles, aging, dryness, etc. Not to mention their other great skincare products.