skincarecheck
INCI ingredient

Carbomer

Also listed as: Carbômer, Carbomer (Carbômer), Carbomer), Carbomer/Carbômer

A synthetic gelling agent that gives serums and gels their texture.

What it triggers

  • Vegan originYesno animal source
  • FragranceNonot a perfume ingredient
  • ParabenNonot a preservative of this family
  • SulfateNonot a sulfate surfactant
  • SiliconeNonot a silicone
  • AlcoholNonot a drying alcohol

What it does

Carbomer is a polymer that swells in water to form a clear gel. A pH adjuster such as Sodium Hydroxide is usually listed nearby to activate it.

It is synthetic and affects none of the six checks.

Functions: thickener, gel former

Products with Carbomer

in 1,264 products

Showing 24 of 1,264 products with this ingredient, most scanned first.

In the EU ingredient database

Functions listed by CosIng
  • emulsion stabilising
  • gel forming
  • viscosity controlling
  • emulsion stabilising: Helping the process of emulsification and improving emulsion stability and shelf-life.
  • gel forming: Giving the consistency of a gel (a semi-solid preparation with some elasticity) to a liquid preparation.
  • viscosity controlling: Increasing or decreasing the viscosity (thickness) of cosmetics.

CAS 9007-20-9 / 9003-01-4 / 76050-42-5 / 9062-04-8 / 9007-16-3 / 9007-17-4 · EC - / - / - / - / - / -

EU regulation

Not on a restricted-substances annex. Listed as an allowed cosmetic ingredient.

Source: CosIng, European Commission. Informative, no legal value; the regulation text is the reference.

Classification from the INCI name; product lists from Open Beauty Facts.Report a mistake