Konjac Glucomannan vs Carbomer - Who's Best?

The race is on for texture perfection! Who's best? Konjac Glucomannan or Carbomer? Before we continue; which ingredient is easier to pronounce? And, which is the plant-based ingredient? Does this make sense? Do we care?

 All right, enough silliness.

Let's get scientific (dons glasses and looks serious). I've been comparing these 2 ingredients for a few weeks and have (almost) concluded testing and shall therefore reveal all.

Test One

My first test was to see if konjak glucomannan really could make a clear gel. Pictured, Comfort Zone Eye Serum in 2 versions. On the left, a version with carbomer, on the right, with konjac glucomannan.

Ahem. I recalled my suppliers words 'creates a clear gel' as I was making this first comparison.

Just as I was ready to write them and 'harruumph' about the not-even-close-to-being-clear qualities, I realized I had used a different kind of Aloe Vera in the test batch (which is kind of imperative when you're comparing stuff). The batch on the right contains liquid aloe vera (which is quite cloudy by nature). The batch on the left contains a gel made with powdered aloe (which makes a crystal clear gel).

I whipped up a new batch.

That's Better

Here is a close-up of the result. You can barely tell where the gel is. Teehee. (I giggle like a schoolgirl when things go well in the lab.)

Gold star for test one!

But Then, There Were The Other Tests

Fully expecting everything else to be equally perfect, I charged ahead and tested konjac glucomannan in several different ways. Unfortunately, the overall results do fall shy of carbomer, but they come closer than anything I've ever worked with before. Here's a chart with my observations.

Comparing Gels with Carbomer to Gels with Glucomannan on the LisaLise Scale

Carbomer gets 100 out of 100 because it is the ideal: the standard by which I have compared all the others.

Konjac Glucomannan has a slightly detectable tackiness, but I could live with that. Where it really falls short is in stability and behavior.

Stability

In stability, I look at whether or not the gel is keeping its structure and unwaveringly 'holding on to' any other ingredients in the mix. The glucomannan gel couldn't keep 5% oil dispersed over a longer period (it pooped out at around 4 weeks).

Behavior

In behavior, I look at how the gel behaves when it is applied to skin in various ways – for example, prior to applying other products. Here's where it fell short: my Comfort Zone Eye Serum is typically applied after cleansing the face and before make-up. Every batch of Eye Serum I made with glucomannan 'interfered' with subsequent application of makeup. It would 'roll off' and mix with the make-up, making it impossible to apply an even layer of make-up. My testers had the same experience.

When something like that happens, I'm afraid the 'luxury factor' gets precedence.

The Poll

You may remember a poll on this blog not too long ago. (You're forgiven if you don't remember – I didn't leave it up very long).

Here are the results.

I was a little surprised that 78% answered they'd choose less perfect texture. But then again, I didn't describe in detail what I meant by less perfect texture, did I?

What Would You Answer Today?

Now that you know how konjac makes a texture less perfect, would you still choose the product with less perfect texture? Remember that the alternative petrochemical ingredient (carbomer) is perfectly safe (honest engine).

In principle, I choose plant-based any day of the week, and have pretty much made it my mantra. But there are exceptions. Lanolin, potassium alum, and beeswax come to mind right off hand – these are stock LisaLise ingredients despite their non-plant origins because they absolutely rock at what they do.

And as for the eye serum: luxury factor wins. I fear the quest for a plant-based alternative to carbomer will have to continue.

But All is Not Lost

I am working on a couple of new products that include konjac glucomannan, because in discovering what it can't do, I've also discovered what it can do and promise to update.

PS: The asterisk after 'clearness' on the chart under glucomannan is because glucomannan it seems to have a tendency to make any semi-cloudy liquid (like the aloe liquid pictured above) even cloudier.