Polyacrylate-21 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is mainly used as a film-former and rheology modifier, helping gels, creams, and styling products build texture, hold, and a smoother after-feel. It can also help stabilize water-based formulas by improving viscosity and suspension.
What does Polyacrylate-21 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is mainly used as a film-former and rheology modifier, helping gels, creams, and styling products build texture, hold, and a smoother after-feel. It can also help stabilize water-based formulas by improving viscosity and suspension.
Is Polyacrylate-21 clean?
From a clean beauty perspective, it has friction because it is a synthetic acrylic polymer rather than a simple biodegradable or naturally derived material. It is generally considered low-irritation in finished formulas, but polymer persistence and residual monomer controls are the main review points.
Is Polyacrylate-21 sustainable?
This material is typically petroleum-derived and is not readily biodegradable. Its environmental profile is shaped less by acute skin compatibility and more by persistence after rinse-off use.
Is Polyacrylate-21 COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-organic or COSMOS-natural standards because it is a synthetic petrochemical polymer outside the allowed ingredient categories. Its fit with Green Chemistry is limited, mainly due to non-renewable feedstock and poor biodegradability, even though it can be effective at low use levels.
How does Polyacrylate-21 work chemically?
This compound is a high-molecular-weight anionic acrylic polymer with carboxylate functionality that forms films and modifies viscosity in water-rich systems. Typical use is often well below a few percent, and performance depends on neutralization, electrolyte load, and compatibility with cationic conditioning agents.
Last updated 2026-05-13