Best Multipurpose Beauty Product EVER

The best product I have in my bathroom pantry is also one of the cheapest. Back in the day, my mom used petroleum jelly but it's much too heavy for some uses. I have gone a better route.

Anyway, I'm not going to tease you with a lot of lead-in jibber jabber. The product is a bottle of glycerin that costs me about 50 cents per ounce. I'm not sure if the brand matters but I have used this one from NOW Solutions for about 5 years or more (since I moved to Iowa where the winters are harshly dry).

Just glycerin*. That's it.

One bottle usually lasts me about 6 months (I do Subscribe and Save) and I never have paid more than $10 for a 16-ounce bottle. Depending on how you use the product, you may go through a bottle faster. (Keep in mind to test that you are not allergic to glycerin. Use your common sense.) Here are some of the ways I use my glycerin:

• Relieve dry skin or cool down from heat - Add it to water - I use about 5 parts water to 1 part glycerin - in a spray bottle. I spritz my face and hair throughout the day to relieve dryness in the winter or cool myself down from the heat in summer. I have lately begun to add rosewater to glycerin for this.
• Skin & hair spritz - Add a few drops of glycerin to rosewater for my hair and skin. I can use this all year round to help with dryness.
• Boost hair products - For my hair products that are not as moisturizing as I like, I will mix some with a bit of glycerin. 
• Boost cheap lotions - As with hair products, the same goes for cheap lotions except I tend to add a lot more glycerin to lotion.
• Soften scented lotions - When I buy a scented lotion and want to tone down the fragrance - or make the lotion last me longer - I will add glycerin.
• Hair mask - If I don't have any conditioning masks handy, I will make some using regular conditioner and glycerin. I have sometimes added yogurt to this mix and I recently tried adding powdered goat milk. You have to choose and adjust any additions depending on your hair type, texture & needs. My hair tends to be dry so, often enough,  just adding the glycerin will work.
• Dry feet - For dry feet or after a nice pedicure, I slather on glycerin and put on some socks for a few hours or overnight.
• Perfume boost - Instead of petroleum jelly, rub glycerin into your damp skin & let it rest before applying perfume. This only works so-so for me but other people say that it helps a lot with the longevity of their scents.

cheap little sprayer

• Lip balm - Add a little with a drop or two of water or another oil to a small container to dab on your lips. Glycerin does have a sweet taste so you may or may not like that. I have added food flavoring to these balms to help with the taste.
• Lip scrub - in place of coconut or other oils, use glycerin in your homemade lip scrubs. I like to use glycerin and water with a small amount of baking soda.
• Cuticle care - rub some into your dampened nails and cuticles. After I do remove any gel polish, I use glycerin for several days to treat my nails.
• Face wash - On the rare occasions that I use anything other than oils to clean my face, I use glycerin. This is especially when I use any soap product. Also...
• For a face & neck wipedown - if you are on the go and cannot properly wash your face and neck, use a baby wipe and glycerin with water to clean away oil, dirt, and sweat without drying out your skin.
• Body wash - Add a few drops to your body wash. I tend to use "moisturizing" body wash but if I do use any other kind, I add a little glycerin.

There are probably several more ways to incorporate glycerin into your personal skin and hair care - just like with some of your favorite oils. My most-used formula is probably the water-glycerin-rosewater mix. And don't bother buying the pricey rosewaters made specifically for the skin or hair. The cheapest and best rosewater I have found is the Cortas brand which is mainly used for cooking and baking. I like it best because it's just rosewater and nothing else.

Just rose water. That's it.

By the way, when I was writing this, I decided to look up how other people use glycerin and randomly found some sources and am surprised by some of what I learned:

• WebMD - always points out cautions. This is not a substitute for checking with your doctors, folks!
• From Very Well Health - I did NOT know about wound healing or laxative effects. Wow.
• Homesteading - You can treat mouth ulcers with it???
• Bellatory - explains how to make bath bombs and soap. I've seen glycerin soap. I'm too lazy to make my own!
• Lifehacker - There are ways to use glycerin around the house. (I'm leery of anything with the word "hack" in it but...)

Basically, you can replace - or boost -  a lot of products with glycerin. You're welcome.

Peace

--Free

* Vegetable glycerin is usually made from some type of plant source (vs animal). The label does not indicate the source for this brand's product, and neither does the NOW website as far as I could tell. However, this is the detailed description given about halfway down the Amazon product page: 

Pure vegetable glycerin is an outstanding moisturizer and skin cleanser that also provides softening and lubricating benefits. It’s easily soluble in water, making it suitable for use in all of your favorite cosmetic applications. Pure vegetable glycerin has a long shelf life and does not easily oxidize. It is derived from non-GMO palm, grape seed, or coconut oil. Ingredient: Glycerin. (my bold)