Carbomer 940

Primary uses

• Aqueous gel formation on neutralisation
• Suspension of insolubles and particulates
• Emulsion stabilisation and yield-value creation
• Clarity retention in transparent gels

Applications

• Clear hydroalcoholic and aqueous gels
• Hand sanitiser and clear serum formats
• Emulsion stabilisation in creams and lotions
• Suspended-particle products

Advantages

• Produces exceptional clarity, which is why it dominates clear gel and sanitiser formats
• Creates yield value, so it suspends insolubles and stabilises emulsions rather than only thickening
• Very efficient — a small quantity does a large amount of structural work

Limitations to consider

• Electrolyte-sensitive: salts, ionic actives and some extracts reduce viscosity sharply
• Requires proper wetting and de-agglomeration before neutralisation, or the batch fills with fisheyes
• Viscosity is entirely dependent on neutralisation, so pH control is not optional
• Use level is established in your own formulation by bench trial and stability testing. Supplier literature ranges are a starting point for that work, not a specification, and they are not reproduced here as one.
• Colour, odour and sensory behaviour vary between manufacturing sources even where the INCI name is identical, and in personal care those differences are visible to the end consumer. Approve a production-representative sample against your own finished format before the first commercial shipment.

How to choose the right grade

• Start from the rheology you actually need — pourable lotion, standing gel, suspending system or a cream that holds its shape
• State whether the finished product must be clear, because clarity eliminates several otherwise suitable thickeners
• Confirm the electrolyte load of the formulation: salt, actives and extracts collapse some thickeners and not others
• Check the pH window of the whole formula against the thickener before selecting it
• Confirm the mixing, wetting and hydration equipment available, since powder thickeners fail on dispersion far more often than on chemistry
• Decide the neutraliser first — sodium hydroxide, TEA and AMP give different clarity and feel
• Confirm the manufacturing process the grade is made by, since buyers routinely ask about residual solvent
• Bench results do not transfer automatically to production. Order of addition, shear, neutralisation and cooling profile all change behaviour at scale, so plan a pilot batch on the intended equipment before committing to a production volume.
• Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.

Typical grades

• Homopolymer grades used for clear aqueous and hydroalcoholic gels
• Grades differentiated by declared viscosity at neutralisation and by test method
• Buyers search for personal-care, cosmetic and pharmaceutical grade material by name, and those words describe what the buyer needs rather than what is asserted here. Which grade a specific offer corresponds to, and what documentation supports it, is read from the supplier documentation for the exact product quoted.
• Active matter, assay and purity are per-offer values that are declared by the supplier for the exact lot. They change both the use level in the formulation and the true cost per unit of function delivered, so quotations are compared on declared active content rather than on price per kilogram.
• Natural, plant-derived, hypoallergenic, dermatologically tested and similar positioning statements belong to the finished brand and must be supported by the brand owner's own evidence. Any such wording attached to a raw material is treated here as a buyer search term, not as a substantiated property of the material offered.