Xylitol

A sugar that may be plant-derived or lab-made

Has prebiotic ability that helps skin stay healthy

Attracts and binds moisture without a greasy feel

Approved for use in foods and is safe for skin

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that may be plant-derived or synthetic (Paula’s Choice uses the former). In the plant world, xylitol naturally occurs in many fruits and vegetables, including mushrooms, lettuce, oats strawberries, bananas, and yellow plums. It can also be derived from wood or upcylced paper.

Research has shown that, like the skin-replenishing ingredient glycerin and similar sugar-derived ingredient sorbitol, xylitol hydrates due to its humectant (moisture-binding) properties.

Xylitol also has an influential role in normalizing skin and the natural process keratinocytes (skin cells) go through as they work their way from the lower to the upper layers to the surface. Part of this is due to its ability to squelch damaging factors in skin that would otherwise throw skin’s natural processes off track.

Xylitol is considered a nutritive sweetener and when added to foods or foods that naturally contain xylitol are eaten, research has shown it has prebiotic action that positively influences the gut microbiome. Xylitol is a source of galactooligosaccharides, which are primary responsible for its prebiotic ability.

When combined with other oligosaccharides such as those derived from fructose, xylitol helps keep the population of good and bad bacteria on skin’s surface balanced.

Xylitol is considered safe as used in cosmetics. In the United States, it is freely permitted as a food additive and is often used as a sugar (sucrose) substitute since it digests slower, thus doesn’t raise blood sugar quickly. Usage levels typically go up to 10%, with much lower amounts used when this sugar is combined with other humectants and prebiotics.

See: Glycerin