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Have you also wondered how to create water-based gels, shampoos or various shower preparations in gel form? The answer to these products is natural gums. However, natural gums offer much more than just the ability to turn water into a gel. Let’s take a closer look at the properties of individual natural gums and compare them.
Natural gums usually represent carbohydrate-based substances that swell in an aqueous environment because they form interlaced networks and thereby increase the viscosity of the final product. What can natural gums be useful for? First of all, natural gums are used to create water-based gels. In other words, natural gums are added to water, hydrosol or another aqueous solution and can transform it into a gel. Of course, there are certain limitations, for example some gums dissolve only after heating, or are unstable at certain pH values, or may not form gels at all and have other uses.Another property of natural gums is their ability to improve the stability of emulsions, or to give emulsions a unique gel-like consistency. It is precisely on the combination of an emulsion (i.e. the union of water and oils by an emulsifier) together with a natural gum that body yogurts are based. Natural gums also have conditioning properties. Some natural gums can improve the condition of hair and are also used as active ingredients. In addition, natural gums influence the texture of products and their skin feel. Natural gums can be obtained from plant materials or algae, and some gums are prepared biotechnologically, with various microorganisms as their producers.
To compare the gel-forming properties of selected natural gums, we prepared solutions of these gums containing 1 % natural gum, 2.5 % glycerin, 1 % preservative Euxyl PE 9010 and 95.5 % distilled water. All solutions/gels were prepared in the same way: powdered natural gum was mixed with glycerin to form a viscous slurry, then distilled water was incorporated into this mixture under continuous stirring, and after the gel formed, the preservative was added. The only exception was carrageenan, whose aqueous solution must be heated to dissolve and subsequently form a gel after the mixture has cooled. In this case, the preservative was added after cooling to room temperature.
Xanthan gum is an excellent natural gum for beginners, as it is able to efficiently form a gel in both cold and hot water and is stable over a wide pH range. If your product using xanthan gum does not turn out well, the problem is probably not with the xanthan gum but with the proportion of other raw materials or the procedure, because xanthan gum can handle a wide range of conditions, including intensive mixing, thereby creating very stable emulsions. Xanthan gum combines well with galactomannans such as konjac powder; the combination of these two substances causes a significant increase in viscosity.This natural gum is obtained biotechnologically, produced by Xanthomonas campestris. A disadvantage of xanthan gum is that products containing it may be more difficult to spread and leave a slightly sticky feel on the skin. Xanthan gum contains negatively charged groups, so it is classified as an anionic gum; such negatively charged gums generally do not combine well with positively charged substances, such as cationic surfactants often used in hair care. On the other hand, anionic gums form gels well in aqueous environments for use in shampoos, shower gels, facial cleansing gels and the like. Xanthan gum is therefore well compatible with amphoteric, nonionic or anionic ingredients.
At a concentration of 1 %, xanthan gum formed a fairly thick gel. The gel was not clear and transparent; instead, it was milky in color, opaque. Its structure was not the finest (compared to guar gum), yet this did not affect the spreading of the gel on the skin, as the gel spread evenly, so for DIY cosmetics this is more of a cosmetic defect that does not interfere with functionality. However, completely spreading a xanthan gum gel on the skin until it disappears takes somewhat longer than with guar gum, and a slightly sticky feel on the skin is noticeable until it is fully absorbed. The advantage of xanthan gum is that it forms stable gels even over a broad pH range, including acidic environments, making it suitable for thickening shampoos and other products containing glucosides, which have an alkaline pH and must be neutralized to the physiological pH of the skin (4.5–5.5).Xanthan gum is therefore suitable for beginners; even at low doses (1 %) it forms relatively thick gels, so if you want shampoos or shower gels that flow easily out of the bottle, use lower dosages.
Guar gum is a thickener obtained from the seeds of Cyamopsis tetragonolobus. Guar gum hydrates easily in both cold and hot environments and forms relatively thick gels. Guar gum belongs to nonionic gums and is therefore compatible with other raw materials regardless of their charge. However, there is also cationic guar gum, which has different properties, so these two materials cannot always be substituted for each other.
Another gum that thickens aqueous solutions well is guar gum. Similar to xanthan gum, guar gum does not form transparent solutions but rather slightly turbid mixtures. However, the advantage over xanthan gum is that the resulting gels have a very smooth, pleasant texture, which is very appealing both to the touch and visually. The disadvantage is a somewhat lower stability compared to xanthan gum; also, at a concentration of 1 %, guar gum forms gels with lower viscosity, i.e. more fluid gels. Therefore, to achieve a more gel-like consistency, you will need a slightly higher dosage than with xanthan gum.
Gum arabic is obtained by extraction from the Acacia senegal tree and can also be found under the name acacia gum. This gum is not particularly known for strong gel-forming properties; it does not form thick gels, but it can stabilize emulsions because it interacts with lipids. In addition, it provides a soft feel on the skin and thus improves the texture of products. This gum sometimes finds use in decorative cosmetics because it improves the adhesion of colorants to the skin.If you are working with gum arabic and have trouble fully dissolving it in cold water, you can heat the mixture to 70 °C until the gum arabic is completely hydrated. After cooling, a change in viscosity may occur. A more pronounced increase in viscosity is usually achieved when this gum is used at concentrations of at least 40 %. It is an anionic gum that is not well compatible with substances having a purely positive charge. Due to its aforementioned ability to interact with lipids, gum arabic facilitates the union of oils with water without increasing viscosity. This is especially useful if you want to incorporate a small amount of oils into an aqueous solution, for example combining essential oils with aqueous solutions while maintaining low viscosity, such as in toners and sprays. Try using a gum arabic to oil ratio of 3:1 or 4:1.
Gum arabic was the only gum in our test that did not thicken the prepared aqueous solution. Therefore, gum arabic is not suitable for thickening products or creating gels when used on its own. It is therefore worthwhile to use gum arabic in combination with other natural gums to form a gel and thicken the product. In the gum arabic test, a clear liquid was obtained, so gum arabic does not cloud solutions, but instead provides transparent solutions.
Carrageenan is among the anionic gums obtained from algae. It is specifically obtained from the red seaweed Chondrus crispus and is widely used not only in cosmetics but especially in the food industry. It is a good thickener and partly also an emulsifier, thus improving the union of oil and water-based raw materials.Carrageenan helps thicken products and create thick, viscous emulsions. In addition, it improves skin hydration by helping to retain more water in the skin.
Carrageenan is a plant-based alternative to animal gelatin, and its properties reflect this. Before it can thicken, carrageenan must first be heated in a water bath until dissolved, which is achieved at about 70 °C. After dissolution, the mixture must be allowed to cool. Only after complete cooling does it set, so depending on the temperature of the place where the mixture is cooling, you may have to wait several hours to obtain a solid mass.The advantage of carrageenan is that it thickens intensely even at low concentrations. At 1 %, after cooling, a firm jelly was obtained, similar to the gelatin found on desserts. Therefore, to thicken products, it is preferable to use a lower concentration, as the firmness of this jelly was too high for any product to be pourable. At a concentration of 0.3 %, it was already possible to stir the mixture with a stick. However, the disadvantage was that when stirring, the solid jelly portion crumbled slightly into smaller pieces, so we did not obtain a uniform gel but rather a mixture of jelly lumps, which not only do not look good visually but are also not very convenient to work with.Overall, carrageenan has the advantage of providing fairly clear and transparent solutions; the disadvantage lies in the need to heat the mixture so that the carrageenan dissolves, which adds another step to the production process. At the same time, we did not obtain a uniform gel but a mixture of lumps, so either use very low concentrations around 0.1 % or combine carrageenan with another natural gum to achieve better properties.
When making shampoos or shower gels, many of us sometimes reach for various colorants, most often mica powders. Mica powders are not only shimmering but are also available in a wide palette of colors to make your product more unique. Do you also want to prepare a range of brightly colored products? Then you certainly don’t want the mica powder you chose to sink to the bottom of your product over time. That is why we looked at a sedimentation test of mica powder in the gels and natural gum solutions we prepared.We proceeded in a similar way to the previous test. One-percent solutions of natural gums were prepared, with the exception of carrageenan, which was used at a concentration of 0.3 %, because at 1 % it provides a jelly that is too firm,into which it would not have been possible to incorporate the mica powder. The 0.3 % carrageenan solution was also heated to dissolve this thickener.Subsequently, 0.5 % green mica powder was added to the solution, and a milk frother was used to disperse it evenly throughout the mixture. To facilitate the dispersion of mica powder, this colorant can also be added directly to the mixture of glycerin and natural gum, and only then water is added.We poured 10 g of this mixture into test tubes and left them standing upright for 72 hours to observe any deposition of mica powder on the bottom. The results relate to the corresponding percentage of natural gum used (1 %, or 0.3 % in the case of carrageenan), so when using a lower concentration of natural gum, the same result may not be achieved (the gel may not be sufficiently viscous and mica powder will sediment on the bottom). What did we find? Read below!
When xanthan gum was used, the results in combination with mica powder were quite good. The mica powder did not settle on the bottom; slight sedimentation after 72 hours was observed only in the upper part of the gel column, but if mica powder were part of a cosmetic product, this phenomenon should not be a major problem, as handling the product would lead to occasional mixing.Overall, mica powder did not settle on the bottom, so xanthan gum can be combined well with mica powders to achieve colored products.
Another gum that combines well with mica powders is guar gum. The mica powder again did not settle on the bottom; slight sedimentation on the top of the gel column will be negligible during use of the product, as handling will cause slight mixing. The mica powder was dispersed very evenly; in this respect, guar gum proved to be the best gel-forming agent for incorporating mica powder. The gel was evenly colored and overall appeared even more homogeneous than with xanthan gum.
Since gum arabic did not thicken the prepared solution at all, as expected, no uniform dispersion of mica powder occurred and the mica powder sedimented on the bottom.
When mica powder was used with carrageenan gel, some dispersion of the colorant was observed, but since the solution contained larger pieces of carrageenan, the mixture was not uniform and homogeneous, and thus the mica powder was not as evenly dispersed as in the gels of xanthan and guar gums. More pronounced sedimentation was also observed in the upper part of the gel.Since in our case (0.3 % carrageenan in the solution) carrageenan did not form a completely homogeneous gel even after mixing with a mixer/milk frother, it was not possible for the mica powder to be perfectly and evenly dispersed.
We believe that our comparison of natural gums has helped to broaden your horizons and brought more insight.Has our article clarified some of your questions about creating natural cosmetics in gel form?If you have your own experiences and knowledge that would bring further new information on this topic, do not hesitate to write to us at marketing@handymade.skWe warmly thank Ivana Jačalová for her extensive contribution.
Until we meet again in another article or tutorial, keep creating natural cosmetics.
