Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is used mainly as a synthetic polymeric thickener, gelling agent, and emulsion stabilizer. It helps build a smooth gel texture and keeps oil and water phases evenly dispersed.
What does Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is used mainly as a synthetic polymeric thickener, gelling agent, and emulsion stabilizer. It helps build a smooth gel texture and keeps oil and water phases evenly dispersed.
Is Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium clean?
It is usually well tolerated on skin because the polymer is high molecular weight and not readily bioavailable. Clean programs often flag it because it is a synthetic, non-biodegradable polymer and because residual monomers are controlled impurities.
Is Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium sustainable?
It is commonly made from petrochemical-derived building blocks and is not considered readily biodegradable. Its environmental profile is mainly a persistence concern, even though use levels in formulas are typically low.
Is Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium COSMOS-approved?
It is generally not permitted in COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic formulas because it is a synthetic polymer outside the standard's allowed material categories. It has weak Green Chemistry alignment due to fossil-derived feedstocks and limited biodegradability, despite efficient performance at low dose.
How does Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium work chemically?
This material is an anionic, water-swellable copolymer that builds viscosity through hydration and network swelling rather than wax crystallization. Typical use is about 0.2-2% in leave-on emulsions and gels, with broad pH tolerance and reasonable electrolyte tolerance, though very high salt or strongly cationic systems can reduce viscosity.
Last updated 2026-05-15