Sodium Carbomer ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is primarily a rheology modifier and gel-forming polymer, used to thicken water-based formulas and suspend particles or droplets. It helps create clear gels, cushiony textures, and stable emulsions.
What does Sodium Carbomer do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is primarily a rheology modifier and gel-forming polymer, used to thicken water-based formulas and suspend particles or droplets. It helps create clear gels, cushiony textures, and stable emulsions.
Is Sodium Carbomer clean?
It is generally well tolerated on skin at cosmetic use levels, with low irritation potential because the polymer is large and not meaningfully absorbed. The clean-beauty friction is environmental and standards-based, since it is a synthetic acrylic polymer rather than a natural or readily biodegradable material.
Is Sodium Carbomer sustainable?
This material is typically made from petrochemical feedstocks and is not considered readily biodegradable. It is used at low levels, but its persistence gives it a weaker sustainability profile than plant-derived gums or biodegradable thickeners.
Is Sodium Carbomer COSMOS-approved?
It is not aligned with COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because it is a synthetic, petrochemical-derived polymer outside the usual permitted natural-origin ingredient framework. From a Green Chemistry perspective, its strengths are efficient low-dose performance and water-based use, while its weaknesses are nonrenewable sourcing and limited biodegradability.
How does Sodium Carbomer work chemically?
The molecule is a high-molecular-weight, crosslinked anionic carboxylate polymer supplied as a sodium salt, so it hydrates and swells in water to build viscosity. Typical use levels are often about 0.1% to 1.0%, and viscosity can drop in high-electrolyte systems or with strongly cationic co-ingredients.
Last updated 2026-05-13