Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (HEC) > Conditioners, Thickeners, & Structural Agents > The Herbarie at Stoney Hill Farm, Inc.

NEW PRICING - Hydroxethyl Cellulose (HEC) is an excellent thickening agent for cosmetic and personal care formulations. This nonionic, water soluble polymer offers efficient and cost-effective options for making crystal clear gel products.

There are different grades of HEC with varying formulation requirements. The Herbarie's Hydroxethyl Cellulose (HEC) is a free-flowing, extremely easy to use, granular powder that easily disperses into room temperature water without clumping or forming “fish-eyes”. We are currently the only distributor for this particular Hydroxyethcellose (HEC) product, therefore other HEC products will likely require different formulation technique and procedures.

Hydroxethyl Cellulose (HEC) has an exceptional skin feel and is the perfect ingredient to make crystal clear serums for water soluble active ingredients. It can also be used to make crystal clear, water soluble hair styling gels. In addition, Hydroxethyl Cellulose (HEC) offers excellent functionality when used in the water phase of emulsions to build viscosity and stability. However, Hydroxethyl Cellulose (HEC) is not an emulsifier and will not emulsify oils into water.

Formulation Guidelines:
- Disperse into room temperature water
- Heat to approximately 165-170F with mixing
- Once the dispersion begins to thicken, remove from heat.
- Cool down while continuing to stir until completely hydrated
- HEC solution can be used as is for a crystal clear product
- No emulsifier needed for all water soluble ingredients

INCI Name: Hydroxyethyl Cellulose

Recommended Percentages:
For Building water phase Viscosity/Stability: 0.1%- 0.5%
For high viscosity crystal clear gel: 1.0%-3.0%

Physical Form: Off-White, free-flowing, light-weight, granular powder
Solubility: Soluble in Water/Not soluble in Oils
Viscosity: 4800-6000 cps
pH: 6.0 (1% in water)