Cosmetic gums may be a bit unfamiliar to many home made cosmetics makers. In this article, I want to tell you a little more about the natural gums used in cosmetics. It is not mandatory to use any kind of gum in cosmetics. You can perfectly prepare minimalist cosmetics using only the necessary ingredients. The use of gums is very common in commercial cosmetic manufacturing. There are many different reasons for that. In this post, I want to introduce you to the world of cosmetic gums. Why are natural gums used in cosmetics and which products are they suitable for?
What are cosmetic gums?
Natural cosmetic gums are made from many different plants and even bacteria. There are also synthetic cosmetic gums, but we will not talk about them in this article.
Natural gums are polymers. Polymer might make you think of plastic. Plastic is also a polymer, but a synthetic one. Polymer refers to the repeating structure of a matter. Natural gums consist of polysaccharides. Polysaccharides cooperate with water. This means that the products in which you want to use cosmetic gums must also contain water in order for the cosmetic gum to work as desired. Natural gum absorbs water molecules and thickens the product.
There are many natural cosmetic gums
Most home cosmetics makers have only come across with the xanthan gum. Different gums have their own characteristics. None of these gums form a gel on their own. The result is more like a jelly. When combined with other gums, you can also create soft, gel-like structures.
However, there are a lot of gums. I really do not want to go through all of them here, there are simply too many of them. I will highlight a few of the most common cosmetic gums here.
Xanthan gum
INCI name: Xanthan gum
Xanthan gum is a very easy gum to handle. It is also the easiest one to find. Food-grade xanthan gum is also available in normal grocery stores on the baking shelf. Food-grade xanthan gum is well suited to produce homemade cosmetics. Regular xanthan gum forms a slightly turbid gel. Turbidity does not matter unless you want to make a completely clear gel. Especially in creams, ordinary xanthan gum works great as a thickener and gel former. You can combine xanthan gum with almost every other natural gums.
Xanthan gum is produced by aerobic fermentation from the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. Xanthan gum can be heated or processed in cold processes. It is not very accurate in terms of pH.
There is also xanthan gum which forms a completely clear gel. Clear xanthan gum is specifically intended for cosmetics, not for the food industry. It has also sometimes been available in Finnish online stores selling cosmetic raw materials. The third type of xanthan gum is soft xanthan gum. It is also cosmetic-quality xanthan gum, which was developed specifically for the needs of cosmetics. Soft xanthan gum gives a very pleasant skin feel in creams. It may be little more difficult to find soft xanthan gum.
Konjac gum
INCI Name: Amorphophallus Konjac Root Extrac
Konjac gum comes from Asia. In Japan, konjac gum is also used as food, like pasta. Facial cleansing sponges made of konjac gum are also familiar to many. They also come from Japan, where they have traditionally been used to wash babies’ delicate skin.
Konjac gum is extracted from the tuber of the Amorphophallus konjac plant. Konjac gum is a white powder that can be mixed with either cold or hot water. The gel formed by konjac gum is brighter than that of xanthan gum. Konjac gum is suitable for both acidic and alkaline products. It works very well with the other cream ingredients and is heat resistant.
Read more about the konjac plant: Konjac sponge and glucomannan
Locust bean gum
INCI name: Ceratonia Siliqua Gum
Locust bean gum is made from the dried seeds of the carob tree that grows in the Mediterranean region. The plant is also known as carob. Locust bean gum is not the same as carob powder sold as a cocoa substitute. Also, the carob tree from the Mediterranean should not be confused with the carob tree (Parkia biglobosa) that grows in Africa. They are too different plants. Locust bean gum is light in colour, slightly yellowish. Locust bean gum is easy to handle when making cosmetics. When combined with, for example, xanthan gum, it forms stable jellies.
Locust bean bags are quite difficult to get in Finland. You can find them quite often from international online stores.
How are cosmetic gums used?
Using cosmetic gums is both easy and challenging at the same time. What I mean by this is that it is relatively easy to add any kind of gum to your product. The gum is usually mixed with glycerol and added to the emulsion or gel by stirring. You can also add gums directly as a powder to the product. Then you should have an efficient mixer that spins at high speeds.
Working with gum becomes challenging if you are looking for a certain skin-feeling or a precise structure for your product. Creating a pleasant-feeling, clear gel is demanding. This is exactly why commercial products use a lot of synthetic gel formers. Synthetic gel formers are in reality liquid plastic but very easy to formulate. Working with natural ingredients is always more demanding. Also remember that your product may become thinner depending on, for example, the hydrolat or preservative used. That’s why I can’t say the amount of gum needed very precisely. You have to experiment yourself with the correct dosage of gums.
Learn to mix different types of gum
It is especially difficult to learn the correct mixing ratios when you use different gums together. Only patient practicing helps with this problem. The correct dosage depends on what other ingredients your product contains and what product you are making. For emulsion creams, gums are usually used at 0.1-0.5%. This is such a small amount that you need a very accurate scale. You need more gum for washing gels and gel serums. Dosing the gum depends entirely on how thick gel you want to create and which cosmetic gum or gum mixture you will use.
I personally like to mix different cosmetics gums. In my own products, one of the gums I use often is xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is not the most popular gum in cosmetics for a reason. It’s really easy to work with. Especially if you make emulsions, the number one choice for cosmetics gum is xanthan gum. Xanthan gum does not require heating, but heating does not harm it either.
What products can cosmetic gums be used for?
Cosmetic gums are so-called thickeners. They add viscosity to the product so that it forms a gel-like structure.
It is worth using cosmetic gums in emulsion creams. They stabilize the emulsion and support the emulsifier. This does not mean that adding gum to the emulsion necessarily makes it completely stable. The stability of an emulsion depends on so many different factors. Use gums for emulsion cream 0.1-0.5% or even more. By experimenting, you can find a suitable mixture.
Use the gums to make oil-free serums. Gel serums feel pleasant on the skin and are easy to apply. I would use gum for gel serum about 0.5%. But even here you must remember that the viscosity depends so much on the other ingredients used and the amount of them.
Washing gels are popular and easy to make yourself. The natural gums mentioned for cosmetics use are very suitable for them. For washing gel, you can already use more gum, about 0,5-2%, depending on the gum and other ingredients.
Tell us about your own experiences of working with cosmetic gums. Which natural cosmetic gum is your favorite?