Comparing Xanthan Gums

Xanthan gum is a very common ingredient found in skincare products. It helps thicken our body
washes and face washes, It can help create a thin or thick gel, it works as a suspending agent &
can even help stabilize emulsions. Xanthan Gum is one of my must have ingredients, but there
are a good handful of different xanthan gums. So which one should you buy?

Today we are taking a look at 3 different xanthan gums

• Xanthan Gum Clear
• Xanthan Gum Soft
• Cheap Xanthan Gum

Other info about Xanthan gum

• Xanthan gum's Typical Use Rate: 0.1 - 2%
• Xanthan gum is Water soluble
• Xanthan gum is okay to be used in the heated phase

Xanthan gum has the tendency to create fish eyes. This is when the xanthan gum clumps up
and doesn't suspend through out the product. In order to escape this problem there are a few
different ways to incorporate it into your formulas
•
• Hydrating it in glycerin or propylene glycol first. (as I'm writing this I am wondering if you can
hydrate it in 1,3 propanedial. Let me know if you've ever tried that)
• You can also incorporate xanthan gum into your product by first heating the water phase,
sprinkling in your xanthan gum and mixing with a high sheer mixer.
• I have also read that you can disperse xanthan gum into oils first and then add into the water
phase allowing the gum to hydrate. (I've personally never tried this method, but let me know if
this is how you incorporate xanthan gum and why you like this method?)
• Another method to incorporate xanthan gum I found, that I've never tried; "The gum may be
premixed with other powdered ingredients such as sugars which reduces the formation of
agglomerates by separating the particles."

My experiment;
I will be hydrating 3 different xanthan gums in glycerin, adding in a preservative and mixing in
water. This is the formula I will be following for each xanthan gum
• 4% glycerin
• 1% xanthan gum
• .5% liquid germall plus
• 94.5% distilled water

Directions; Mix together the glycerin and xanthan gum for a few minutes until completely
hydrated. Add in your preservative, add in distilled water and mix until well incorporate.

My Findings;
Xanthan Gum Clear - This became the thickest out of the 3 xanthan gums. It came out
completely clear just as the name suggests. It does feel tacky on the skin (this is normal for
xanthan gum) Overall this xanthan gum has the best aesthetic.
Xanthan Gum Soft - No surprise here, it really did feel the softest on the skin. It does still have
that tacky feel, but it still somehow felt softer. This xanthan gum did come out to be the thinnest
compared to the rest and it has a slight off white color to it. A great perk that comes with using
this xanthan gum is the reduced string effect. If you've worked with xanthan gum in the past you
probably know what I'm talking about. I purchased this xanthan gum on formulator sample shop
because lotion crafter was out of stock. On the lotion crafter's site I noticed they make the
following claim on the listing for xanthan gum soft; "Xanthan Gum that has been specially
formulated to reduce the string effect". I'm not sure why they don't mention this on formulator
sample shop. It seems like an important fact. Most xanthan gums feel and look stringy, but
xanthan gum soft really eliminates that effect which can give a much more pleasant feel, better
application and a nicer look to a product.

Cheap Xanthan Gum - Specifically I used "Anthony's Xanthan Gum". I purchase 1 pound on
amazon for $10.79, which is a great deal. This 1 pound bag will last you a long time. Even
though this xanthan gum has a better price point and can reduce the cost of your products you
make, it does have it's down sides. First it is opaque. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's
something to keep in mind when you are considering the overall aesthetic of your end product. It
also does not rub into the skin very well. In the video that goes along with this post I showed a
picture of what it looked like when I tried rubbing this hydrated xanthan gum into my skin. I'm not
sure how to describe it, you just got to go look at the photo. (I show the photo at 3:40 in the
video) So this proved to me that this cheap xanthan gum is not good to use in leave on
products. It is okay to use in a wash off product like a face wash or face mask, but I can't
recommend it for leave on products. It ended up coming in the middle in terms of viscosity. It
was thicker than xanthan gum soft, but thinner than xanthan gum clear. One last thing I want to
mention is that this xanthan gum was harder to hydrate into the glycerin. I noticed there were
fish eyes left after I mixed everything together, but once the product had sat over night the fish
eyes did eventually go away. So it's not to big of a deal, but still something I wanted to mention.
If you do work with this cheap xanthan gum and use it in a face wash or another wash off
product I suggest heating the water phase first, adding in the xanthan gum, & mixing with a high
sheer mixer. This is my favorite way to work with this cheap xanthan gum.

So which ended up being my favorite?

Xanthan gum soft is my favorite. Remember the two jelly masks I made recently? I used
xanthan gum soft in the Vanilla Rose Jelly Mask & I use xanthan gum clear in the Cucumber
Eye Mask. I really liked the way the Vanilla Rose Jelly Mask looked and the spreadability much
more compared to the Cucumber Jelly Mask. The Cucumber Jelly Mask sort of has globs in it.
(not fish eyes, the xanthan gum hydrated perfectly, it was just globby, clumpy, and more stringy)
This obviously doesn't make the mask perform any less than the Vanilla Rose Jelly Mask, but
the application just isn't as smooth as the Vanilla Rose Mask. This whole situation is really what
swayed my decision in liking the xanthan gum soft more. Also after doing this experiment and
getting a good look at the xanthan gums performances by themselves, with out any other added
ingredients, is what helped me make my final decision.
Siligel!
Since we are taking a look at different xanthan gums I wanted to add in another, quit similar
ingredient, Siligel. I personally love siligel and I find it to be another, must have ingredient. At
least for me it's a must have.

How is siligel similar to xanthan gum?

First off, siligel actually contains xanthan gum. Here is the INCI of siligel; Xanthan Gum (and)
Lecithin (and) Sclerotium Gum (and) Pullulan. It is similar to xanthan gum because they do
similar things; Siligel thickens, creates a gel, it works as a suspending agent, and it helps
stabilize emulsions, but it also does more. Siligel can also act as a co-emulsifier, unlike xanthan
gum. Siligel also claims to have "an amazing silicone-like skin feel" which I have to say, I agree
with. It obviously isn't exactly like a silicone, but it feels silky smooth on the skin. It feels so much
nicer than any of the xanthan gums I've tried. It does not have that tacky feel that I have found
with every xanthan gum I've used. What could be considered a con when using siligel compared
to xanthan gum, is that it doesn't thicken as well. The viscosity of siligel was lower than all the
xanthan gums I tried. It also was more opaque. Even more opaque than the cheap xanthan
gum. Of course these things aren't necessarily negatives, but they are things to consider.
So overall, if you want to purchase any of these ingredients I recommend xanthan gum soft and
siligel.

Hope you all enjoyed this ingredient comparison.Thanks for reading! :)