Carrageenan in Skincare: What It Does and Why We Use It
Carrageenan is a seaweed-derived thickener, and it is the reason a serum feels like a soft gel instead of a watery liquid. It is a texture and stability ingredient, not a skin treatment, and a reliable one for serums.
What is carrageenan?
Carrageenan is a family of long sugar-based chains extracted from red seaweed. In cosmetics its main jobs are gelling, thickening and stabilising.
This page is about carrageenan in skincare only. Food use is regulated under different rules.
What does carrageenan do for skin?
Texture is its job. It thickens the water phase of a formula so a serum has body, and it helps keep the ingredients evenly mixed. That makes it a formula ingredient rather than a skin treatment, and we do not claim it improves a skin concern.
Why we use carrageenan
Carrageenan is in our Glow Serum, Calming Collagen Serum and AHA/BHA Resurfacing Serum. We use it as a thickener, to give the serums their gel-like body.
A serum should feel good to apply, not run off your fingers. A seaweed-derived thickener is a neat way to get that.
Who is carrageenan good for?
Most people. As with any ingredient, stop using a product if you notice redness, itching or stinging that does not settle, and patch test new products. Our patch testing guide explains how.
How do you use it?
You do not use carrageenan directly. It is part of the formula, so use the finished product as its label directs.
What does it pair with?
Gums are often used together so one covers for the other's weaknesses. Xanthan gum is another thickener used in many of the same kinds of products. Nothing needs to be kept away from carrageenan in a routine.
Is carrageenan safe?
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel assessed polysaccharide gums in a final report released on 22 October 2015, and concluded that carrageenan and sodium carrageenan are safe in the present practices of use and concentration in cosmetics.
The same report said there was not enough data to judge hydrolysed (degraded) carrageenan in cosmetics. That is a separate ingredient with its own name. When an ingredient list says carrageenan, it is not hydrolysed carrageenan.
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FAQ
Is carrageenan safe in skincare?
The CIR Expert Panel concluded that carrageenan and sodium carrageenan are safe as used in cosmetics.
Is carrageenan vegan?
It comes from red seaweed, not from an animal.
Is carrageenan the same in food and skincare?
It can come from the same seaweed, but this page covers cosmetic use only.
Does carrageenan moisturise skin?
Its job in our serums is texture and stability, so we do not claim a moisturising effect.
Related ingredients
Xanthan gum, beta glucan, witch hazel extract and aloe vera.
Sources
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel. Safety Assessment of Polysaccharide Gums as Used in Cosmetics, final report, 22 October 2015. CIR report
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel. Safety Assessment of Red Algae-Derived Ingredients as Used in Cosmetics, 2021. CIR report
- Mingu N, et al. Red Seaweed Carrageenan: A Comprehensive Review of Preparation in Cosmetics. Borneo Journal of Resource Science and Technology 2024;14(2). Journal page
