Balm claims not to contain alcohol but the ingredients say the opposite

[Smoothshave]

I just bought a balm, on the package there is written: contains no alcohol

In the ingredients there are two substances which do contain alcohol i guess:
cetearyl alcohol and phenoxyethanol.

Alcohol is alcohol and alcohol is also known als ethanol......and alchol will behave like alcohol (drying out skin) in any form....

Am I missing a point here?

 

[Leche]

Cetearyl alcohol isn't an alcohol in the sense of drying your skin. It's a mixture of fatty acids and used as an emollient in cosmetic applications such as moisturizers. Don't know about the other one though.

 

[Barbarian]

This is because 'alcohol' has a very specific meaning in ingredient labels.

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-lab1.html

More specifically, look here:

http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/Cosmet...LabelClaimsandExpirationDating/ucm2005201.htm

 

[gollum83]

I just bought a balm, on the package there is written: contains no alcohol

In the ingredients there are two substances which do contain alcohol i guess:
cetearyl alcohol and phenoxyethanol.

Alcohol is alcohol and alcohol is also known als ethanol......and alchol will behave like alcohol (drying out skin) in any form....

Am I missing a point here?

You're right. Both cetearyl alcohol and phenoxyethanol are alcohols. The thing you need to keep in mind is when they advertise something as alcohol-free the manufacturers use the word alcohol to refer exclusively to ethanol only, like any layman would, rather than using alcohol in the scientific sense of the term.

 

[Smoothshave]

This is because 'alcohol' has a very specific meaning in ingredient labels.

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-lab1.html

More specifically, look here:

http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/Cosmet...LabelClaimsandExpirationDating/ucm2005201.htm

Very clear! Thanks for giving this information!