BY JULIE GABRIEL, 18 June 2012

Do you know what baby wipes, eye makeup removers and antifreeze have in common? They all contain propylene glycol, an odorless alcohol used as a solvent, humectant, emulsifier, hydroscopic substance, and fragrance carrier. It is a petrochemical made of crude oil, one of nature's irreplaceable substances. I bet cosmetic manufacturers can whip up a universal beauty product containing pure propylene glycol, if they could! Propylene glycol (watch out for letters PG followed by a plant name) is also used in many so-called "organic"  beauty products as a solvent and carrier of plant extracts.

Propylene glycol, known also by the systematic name propane-1,2-diol, is thought to be safe and is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a direct food additive. Experts insist that cases of propylene glycol poisoning were caused by either intravenous use or accidental ingestion by children. Read more of this post