A-Z of Cosmetic Ingredients and Terms
A polymer is a large chemical made up of a sequence of one or more types of units, or monomers, which are bonded together to form a chainlike structure.
Examples of polymers in nature include silk, cellulose, starch and DNA. Synthetic polymers touch all aspects of our daily lives, from polyester clothing to vinyl flooring and PET food packaging.
Polymers made up of one type of monomer unit are called homopolymers e.g. A-A-A-... and polymers made up of more than one type of monomer unit are called co-polymers e.g. A-B-A-B-....
Polymers can have different properties depending upon the type of monomer unit, the number of monomers in the polymer, how the monomers fit together and whether the monomers have any additional chemical groups. They can be elastic, durable, flexible, hard, soft, solid or liquid.
Therefore, it is impossible to determine from the name of a polymer on the ingredients list whether it is natural, synthetic, liquid, solid, soft, hard etc.
Owing to the range of properties a polymer can bring to a product, polymers have a very wide use in cosmetic products.
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