Po
Polyacrylamide
Polyacrylamide
A synthetic thickener and stabilizer — keeps oil and water mixed and lays a thin film for a smoother feel.
What it does
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a film former (leaves a film on skin) and a binder (holds the product together).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers say products use polyacrylamide to bind, form a film and hold hair in place. It doesn’t pass through skin, but leftover acrylamide, the raw material it’s made from, does. Acrylamide harms nerves at high exposures cosmetics can’t reach, causes cancer in animal tests and probably does in people. In 2005 the reviewers judged polyacrylamide safe as used if a product holds no more than 5 parts per million of acrylamide, and kept that verdict in 2023.Cosmetic 2005 · International Journal of Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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