Acrylic Acid/VP Crosspolymer ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is primarily a rheology modifier and gel former, helping water-based formulas build viscosity, suspend particles, and form a light film on skin or hair.
What does Acrylic Acid/VP Crosspolymer do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is primarily a rheology modifier and gel former, helping water-based formulas build viscosity, suspend particles, and form a light film on skin or hair.
Is Acrylic Acid/VP Crosspolymer clean?
It is usually well tolerated because its large polymer size limits skin penetration, with quality depending on tight control of residual monomers. It has clean-standard friction because many stricter frameworks scrutinize synthetic, non-readily biodegradable film-forming polymers.
Is Acrylic Acid/VP Crosspolymer sustainable?
This material is typically petrochemical-derived and is not considered readily biodegradable. Its main environmental issue is persistence after rinse-off use rather than bioaccumulation.
Is Acrylic Acid/VP Crosspolymer COSMOS-approved?
It is generally not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic because it is a synthetic, non-readily biodegradable polymer. From a Green Chemistry view, it has weak alignment due to fossil feedstocks and limited end-of-life breakdown.
How does Acrylic Acid/VP Crosspolymer work chemically?
The molecule is a crosslinked, water-swellable copolymer with carboxyl-bearing and lactam-bearing segments, giving it thickening, suspending, and film-forming behavior. It is commonly used at low levels, often below 2%, and performance depends on hydration, neutralization state, electrolyte load, and the formula’s pH.
Last updated 2026-05-15