Stretching properties of xanthan, carob, modified guar and celluloses in cosmetic emulsions

The filament stretching properties of various polysaccharides (including xanthan, carob, hydroxypropyl guar, hydroxypropylmethyl and hydroxyethyl celluloses) were investigated and compared to synthetic polymers generally used as texturing agents in cosmetic emulsions. The stretchability was examined by sensory evaluation as “the amount of sample that strings rather than breaks when fingers are separated”. Different behaviors were evidenced: the xanthan emulsion showed the highest stretchability, followed by the hydroxypropyl guar and hydroxyethyl cellulose emulsions while the synthetic polymers presented stretching properties to a much lesser extent. The instrumental characterization of the stretchability was conducted at a controlled speed and recorded with a camera using a texture analyzer. The maximum stretchable length at 40 mm/s was highly significantly correlated to the sensory Stringiness, thus allowing a good predictability of this attribute. Finally, this method was applied to aqueous solutions to better understand the role of the polymers in emulsion and to validate the measurement on a wider range of products.

► The filament stretching properties of cosmetic O/W emulsions were investigated.
► A method using a texture analyzer was developed to measure the stretchability.
► The maximum stretchable length was highly correlated to the sensory Stringiness.
► Different stretching behaviors were shown among the 5 emulsions of polysaccharides.
► The emulsion containing the xanthan gum was the most stretchable one.