Quick answer

Versatile polymer widely used in skin care and makeup; Aids texture and helps stabilize formulas; Often used to create aesthetically pleasing transformative textures; Helps disperse skin-beneficial ingredients such as UV filters

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Updated

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer is a copolymer of sodium hydroxyethyl acrylate and acryloyldimethyl taurate monomers

Purpose

A synthetic polymer whose versatility gives it many aesthetically pleasing uses in cosmetics while helping create and maintain stable, effective formulas.

Rating

GOOD

Category

Suspending/Dispersing Agent, Texture Enhancer, Polymer

INCI Purpose

EMULSION STABILISING, VISCOSITY CONTROLLING

Risks

Synthetic polymer — Lab-made polymer used to thicken or form a film — not a solid microplastic particle

Alternative Names

At a Glance

Versatile polymer widely used in skin care and makeup

Aids texture and helps stabilize formulas

Often used to create aesthetically pleasing transformative textures

Helps disperse skin-beneficial ingredients such as UV filters

Article

Hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer is a synthetic polymer that has many uses in cosmetics: it primarily functions as a stabilizer, texture enhancer, dispersing agent, and opacifier.

It is often combined with ingredients such as isohexadecane, various polysorbates, and a blend of dimethicone- or siloxane-based silicones. These combinations give a cosmetics chemist several options to create appealing aesthetics. The copolymer plays a role in how fast a product “breaks” on skin (meaning how quickly its initial texture changes once applied). For this reason, it’s often used in products with transformative, gel-cream textures.

Another helpful aspect of this copolymer is that it can be used within a wide pH range without its efficacy or stability changing.

The independent Cosmetic Ingredient Review has deemed this ingredient safe as used in cosmetics. Concentration maximums include 4.3% in rinse-off products and up to 3.6% in leave-on products, including eyeliners and eyeshadows. Cosmetic brands typically use less than those maximum amounts since the safety assessment of this ingredient capped its usage at 3% in leave-on products.

See: Polymer

References