This ingredient spotlight post covers an ingredient found in both pet food and pet grooming products, vegetable glycerin. Today we’ll talk about the use and benefits of glycerin in pet grooming products.
Glycerin’s chemical formula is C3H8O3. It is a by-product of the soap making industry. Glycerin can be derived from animal fats or vegetable oils. We only use vegetable glycerin in Vintage Doggie Spa products. Vegetable glycerin is a clear, odorless liquid produced from plant oils, such as palm, coconut or soy. It has a thick syrupy consistency and a sweet flavor.
The biggest reason vegetable glycerin is so popular in cosmetic applications for humans and in pet grooming products is for its humectant properties. Humectants attract moisture from the air into the skin. Humectants also help to relieve dry, itchy skin by drawing water up from the lower layers of skin. This helps to hydrate skin from both the inside and out and protect it from losing moisture.
Humectants also help ‘deliver’ active ingredients into the skin. So if a product contains vitamins, humectants help the skin absorb those active ingredients more easily and also deeper into the skin.
Glycerin’s hydrating effects make it very beneficial in soothing skin irritations and burns. If your pet suffers from dry, itchy skin, and you’re working on changing their diet to heal this from the inside out, also look for products that contain vegetable glycerin as a way to speed up the process and soothe the skin from the outside as well.
Vintage Doggie Spa products that contain vegetable glycerin include Shampoo, Detangling Conditioner and Herbal Ear Wash.