if glycerin is hygroscopic, it attracts water in, how does it work as a moisturizer on human skin?

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I’d think it would pull out the water from skin since it is hygroscopic ( and soon to be wiped off of skin by clothes etc., along with the water it absorbed), but it is actually a moisturizing agent and one of the most common ingredients in moisturizing skin creams etc.?

In: Chemistry

Anonymous 0 Comments

Hygroscopic means it absorbs moisture. Not liquid water. So glycerol only absorbs the water vapour in air. Not the liquid water in skin.