Carbomer in Skincare Products: The Facts You Need to Know

Carbomer is one of the most used compounds found in skincare products and cosmetics. But what exactly is it?

In this guide to Carbomer, we lay out the fundamental facts to know about Carbomer in skincare products and what makes it so effective.

What Is Carbomer?

Carbomer is a polymeric substance used as a skin-conditioning agent. The production process involves raw materials by using chemical reactions, resulting in a range of polymers. Each of these polymers has differing properties, which in turn, enables a variety of use cases.

Carbomer exists in personal care products like creams, lotions, and serums. It can also exist in other products like makeup, toothpaste, and hair gel. These all use different variations of Carbomer. Each application requires a different viscosity of Carbomer to make it most useful.

Although it’s called Carbomer, it’s easy to confuse with its homophone Carbon. Carbomer is further complicated with Carbon Black, a by-product of Carbomer production. Thus it’s important to distinguish these differences when discussing Carbomer.

Carbomer in Skincare Products

Carbomers are used in the formulation of skin care products. They are commonly used as thickeners and rheology-modifying agents in formulas. This property enables them to form liquids of various viscosities or thicknesses.

In skincare products, it adds viscosity to formulas without creating an unpleasant texture. It is the thickening effect that helps improve the feel and absorption of skincare products. As a result, the lotions and creams can glide across the skin with ease while remaining practical.

Carbomer also works as a suspending agent. This helps keep small particles like exfoliants and essential oils in the mixture. As a suspending agent, it enables the application of the ingredients without excessive effort. It’s also great for a peaceful night’s sleep!

Another benefit is that it creates a barrier effect. So, it not only allows moisturizer to work its way into your skin, but it also keeps out anything that would reverse the impact of the moisturizer.

Is Carbomer Safe?

Carbomers are FDA-approved and have a proven safety record. They’re considered safe for use in skincare products.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), an international organization that reviews cosmetic compounds, has studied Carbomers. They have found they cause no side effects when used in skincare products. The CIR also found that Carbomers have no negative environmental impact if disposed of in wastewater treatment plants.

So, as long as you use the right form of Carbomer, you needn’t worry about the product’s safety. Your only concerns should be standard regulatory warnings about the correct application. If you’re still concerned, here you can click for more information about Carbomer.

Purchasing Carbomer

For purchasing Carbomer in skincare products, buy from a reputable distributor. That way, you can make sure you are getting the right compound for your products at a reasonable price.

For more industry advice, keep reading our informative articles and get ahead of the competition today.