What does Polycarbophil do?

Used in cosmetics as an emulsion stabiliser and a thickener. Polycarbophil is a homopolymer of Acrylic Acid crosslinked with Divinyl Glycol.

Is Polycarbophil safe?

We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

beauty
industrial
pharma

Polycarbophil

CAS 9003-97-8

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Polycarbophil in plain language

What it is: Also known as Polyacrylic acid cross-linked with divinyl glycol · Noveon polycarbophil AA-1
What it does: Used in cosmetics as an emulsion stabiliser and a thickener. Polycarbophil is a homopolymer of Acrylic Acid crosslinked with Divinyl Glycol.
Emulsion stabilising
Viscosity controlling
Is it a concern?: We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Polycarbophil appears in these published regulatory listings.

Inactive ingredient in US drugs

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Industrial

USFDAinactive ingredient database8 entries — 4 administration routes
- Route: BUCCAL; Dosage form: FILM; Maximum daily exposure: 2 mgSource →
- Route: BUCCAL; Dosage form: FILM, SOLUBLE; Maximum daily exposure: 6 mgSource →
- Route: BUCCAL; Dosage form: TABLET; Maximum daily exposure: 6 mgSource →
- Route: OPHTHALMIC; Dosage form: GEL; Maximum daily exposure: 1 mgSource →
- Route: OPHTHALMIC; Dosage form: SOLUTION; Potency: 0.9 %w/wSource →
- Route: OPHTHALMIC; Dosage form: SUSPENSION/ DROPS; Potency: 0.86 %w/vSource →
- Route: TOPICAL; Dosage form: SYSTEM; Maximum daily exposure: 14 mgSource →
- Route: VAGINAL; Dosage form: GEL; Maximum daily exposure: 100 mgSource →
EUCosIngActivePolycarbophil is a homopolymer of Acrylic Acid crosslinked with Divinyl Glycol.
- Polycarbophil is a homopolymer of Acrylic Acid crosslinked with Divinyl Glycol.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 0 composition records across product categories including unclassified products.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 0 composition records across product categories including unclassified products.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as polymer.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as polymer.Source →

Expert safety opinions

No expert opinion on file for Polycarbophil. These are the independent scientific bodies that assess ingredients like this one; we show an opinion only when a record we hold cites it.

SCCS
EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety
No SCCS opinion on file.
CIR
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (US expert panel)
No CIR safety assessment on file.

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for Polycarbophil yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

6 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated 2019-04-29
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA Inactive Ingredient Database
regulatory · updated 2026-01-09
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →

Suitability

Context-specific fit derived from published classifications and the current ingredient evidence profile.

Fragrance avoidance

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Where it has been recorded

How often EPA CPDat has listed Polycarbophil in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Named organisations

Typical roles

Emulsion stabilisingViscosity controlling

See products using Polycarbophil →