“Alcohol in skincare is more complex than you may have first thought. Much like Jekyll and Hyde, it has both a good and bad side,” reveals Daniel Isaacs, director of research at Medik8.

Alcohol serves as a preservative and acts as a solvent, and we often need both of these in products to make them usable. But there are two different types of alcohol which have very different effects on the skin.

Ethanol, otherwise known as alcohol denat (short for denatured), is often seen as the villain of the skincare world. It can be drying, irritating and at high percentages is bad for the skin.

“Alcohol denat is used in formulations to leave its texture almost weightless,” explains Isaacs. “It can also be used to help other ingredients absorb into the skin by breaking down the skin’s protective barrier. But formulations with high amounts of alcohol denat can damage the skin barrier, allowing pathogens in and water to escape.”

Is alcohol in your skincare bad? We asked the experts