What Is Vegetable Glycerin and What Are the Uses of It?
Glycerin is a type of sugar alcohol that can be produced from petroleum. Plants, or animal products. Vegetable glycerin is the variant produced from plant oils. Studies show that it was discovered more than two hundred years ago by heating a mixture of olive oil and lead monoxide. However, it became industrially and economically recognized in the late 1800s when it was first used to produce dynamite.
Vegetable glycerin is commonly used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food industries. For example, it is usually added to foods to facilitate the mixing of water-based and oil ingredients, moistening or sweetening the final product. Vegetable glycerin can also be used to prevent ice crystals from forming in frozen foods, like low-fat frozen yogurt, ice cream and other desserts.
In addition, it is usually added to candles, soaps, deodorants, makeup, and lotions.