Carbomer
Carbomer is a nonlinear polymer primarily made up of acrylic acid which is its monomer. It is white fluffy powder used as gels in cosmetics and skin care products. It can be found in wide variety of products for skin, hair, nail, cosmetics, and dentifrices. Its chemical formula is C3H2O4, and its chemical name is Polyacrylic acid.
What is Carbomer is used for?
Carbomers is a large molecule that has ability to absorb and retain large amount of water. They are thickening agents that help control viscosity and flow of cosmetic products. They help to suspend insoluble solid into liquids and prevents oil and liquid part of solution from separating. It can swell up to 1000 times when submerged in water that is the reason it is contained in wide range of products like facial moisturizer, sunscreen, shampoo, cleanser, scrubs and many more.
How Carbomer is made?
Carbomer is an important thickening polymer formed by vinyl formic acid and allyl ether chemically crosslinked and comprises of 56-68% carboxyl in molecules. It is slightly acidic in pH and its density is 208 kg/m3. The carbomer need these raw materials by following mass fraction; 100-150 parts vinyl formic, 0.2-0.6 part of initiator (benzoyl peroxide), 0.2-1.5 part of linking agent (tetramethylomethane alkene), 0.2- 1.2 part of stabilizer (polysiloxane polymeric surface-active agent), 780-970 parts of mixed solvent (combination of ethyl acetate, hexanaphthene and normal hexane).
All the raw materials vinyl formic, initiator, linking agent, stabilizer, mixed solvent is mixed and join in reactor and after nitrogen bubble for 20-30 mins, it is put in heating water bath at temperature 50-37C for 4-8 hours. After that, the next step is product filtration. It is obtained, washed, and dried and after all this process we can obtain white, fluffy powder that is carbomer powder.
Is Carbomer toxic?
Carbomers are considered to be the safe ingredient. They are versatile product and cany be used anytime. They have low toxicity when ingested. Carbomers have not shown any allergic reaction and they have low potential of photo toxicity and skin irritation and allergies. It can be used by everyone; it is safe for all skin types and has no adverse effects.
Carbomers for hair
Carbomer creates a healthy film around the hair that smooths the cuticle of hair and helps in styling our hair. It is acidic when put into water solution. When the polymer is neutralized with an ingredient like tea it causes cross linking within the polymer and it turn into gel like structure. This gel formula will help to style hairs. It must be thoroughly mixed and hydrated before use otherwise it will not give its benefit and will have the chances of lump formation. It not only thickens a product but bring texture enhancement.
Properties of Carbomer
- They have good thermal stability.
- It exhibits high viscosity at low concentrations
- They are UV sensitive.
- It is hygroscopic in nature and have slightly acetic acid odor.
- It shows better bio adhesive properties.
- They exhibit water retention and water absorption properties.
- They are soluble in water but insoluble in oils.
- They are anionic polymers which requires neutralization to have gel like structure.
- They exhibit thickening, emulsifying, and suspending properties.
- They can be very sensitive to shear after neutralization.
FAQs
What can I use instead of carbomer?
Amigel, a 100% polysaccharide having the properties of gelling and thickening is an alternative for carbomer. It is a stabilizing agent for the formulation of emulsion.
Is Carbomer soluble in water?
They are soluble in water. After neutralization they are 95% soluble in ethanol and glycerin. When carbomers are added in water they will form an acidic solution and it will thicken when an alkaline medium is added.
Is Carbomer a surfactant?
They are surfactant due to their amphiphilic structure and can be used to increase the solubility of water.
Is Carbomer a chemical?
It is a synthetic chemical used in cosmetic industry for over 50 years. It has a history as a safe ingredient although neutralizing agent such as tea can contaminant the formulation.