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Incorporating Sodium Carbomer
Greeting everyone,
I was under the impression that carbomers should not be mixed under high shear, as it would break the gel network and compromise viscosity. However, I saw a video the other day of someone using high shear with sodium carbomer. Would that principal not apply to sodium carbomer? If so, in a standard body lotion formula, which phase (water or oil) and shear type would work best to incorporate the sodium carbomer? Thanks in advance.
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6 Replies
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You can and should incorporarte carbomers in your water with high mixing. At these stage, there’ll be no significant impact on their structure. Once neutralized, you can only mix with high mixing, very shortly.
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Hi there. Since sodium carbomer comes pre-neutralized, should it be mixed under high shear for a brief period of time while adding the oil the phase?
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Sorry, I didn’t fully get your question. Since you’re making a lotion, I’d use a non neutralized carbomer instead, since usually the emulsion process takes time and high shear. If you have no other choice, then reduce your emulsion time, but check through stabilityvtesting if it was enough to give you good stability.
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Got it, thank you!
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I guess you’ve seen a Tara Lee’s video, where she makes a cream gel with Sodium Carbomer and uses an immersion blender? If so, don’t look at her videos. Sodium Carbomer should be added in the cool down phase, around 50-40 degrees, and should be incorporated by mixer ( I use a hand mixer). Homogenisation will break the gel network, for sure.
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Yes, that’s where I seen it and was utterly confused. I seen a chemist add it post emulsification under low shear. I figured that was the correct way to avoid breaking the network. Thank you for confirming.
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