When I see xanthan gum, I know something has gone wrong.
There are very few reasons to like xanthan gum. It’s an absolute bastard to work with, in the lab and at full-scale manufacturing, and the sensory sucks. This is a problem solver than creates more problems than it solves. It’s used because it’s a cheap way of adding stability. Yeah, I can hear every chemist out there say “no, it’s a rheology modifier! It’s used to make things thicker!” While that is correct, what they’re really using it for Personal Care is to thicken an emulsion that has failed stability trials. In effect, it slows down failure. Entropy is a bitch, xanthan gum just slows down it’s inevitable march.
It’ has quite a few industrial applications, and even some in food. In Personal Care though, xanthan an indicator that you’re seeing a product that has failed at least one stability trial. (Stability trials are 3+ month accelerated tests to determine product shelf life, and a failed test means that a product has fallen apart anywhere from day 1 to week 12)
So what are the alternatives?
First and foremost, understand your ingredients. All the components interact, you should know how they dance together. For example, lots of natural formulations use unsaturated vegetable oils, yet most emulsifiers are fully saturated. Even an unsaturated co-emulsifier will change your life. I’m looking at you sorbitan oleate. Like for like.
I cannot understate how important this rule is – this is the 80/20 of all the rules. Just learn this one first before you worry about the rest.
Secondly, ISO 16128 will help. A lot. By that, I mean claiming a % naturality rather than a totally natural formulation – Garnier Fructus are doing this really well. The small synthetic component will give you great functionality. For example, there are some amazing “mostly” natural rheology modifiers out that. The sensory is much better, they disperse more easily, and you still get to claim a high % natural. I’m a huge fan of ISO 16128!
Steric hinderance for w/o emulsions. This almost lends into the first rule, but it’s worth elaborating on. Steric hinderance adds branched chains as a structural feature of the emulsifier, not just a chemical feature. The structure of PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate is a great example of this.
Clays, particularly bentonite and smectite. I find these much more useful in industrial applications where you need to suspend something (super common in agricultural dispersions or even clinging a toilet cleaner to the bowl), but there are times you have particularly aggressive ingredients that won’t stabilize any other way (lots of essential oils). Call in the clay platelets to add a physical scaffolding inside the product. Here you’re forcing entropy to work against itself. I’m not a huge fan of their sensory but it’s still better than xanthan. WIth the right grade of clay, you basically get infinite stability, even in hot conditions (mineral sunscreens on a beach).
Being specific in your product briefs. I could write a book on this one, which would be littered of real world examples of dumb briefs from high ranking people. Here is one example:
Sales Manager: I want you to make our color protection shampoo better.
Me: What do you mean by better?
-silence-
Me: Do you want longer lasting color protection? Do you want the same color protection, but you just want it cheaper to make? Do you want to change the foam profile? Do you want tighter bubbles? More open, lacy bubbles? Some consumers feel that foam means worse color protection, so do you want less foam? Is there a specific color you want to highlight? Can I add some color to it?
Sales Manager: I think I’ve made myself perfectly clear! *hammers fist on desk and storms out*
This was in the head office of a $15bn company. You think he knew about a proper brief??
Last rule: if you don’t know, learn who your tech savvy suppliers are and ask them. The old adage about grammar is adapted here “know your shit or know you’re shit.”
Given all this, I’m not saying xanthan gum should never be used, but it should certainly not be used as widely as it is. It’s a crutch for bad formulating that we’ve gotten used to. Have a think about your ingredients or feel free to drop me a line – I’m happy to consult!
Niftenberg Creations 