Carbomer is a large molecule that has the ability to absorb and retain large amounts of water. In skincare, it is used as an emulsifier to help stabilize and thicken solutions with different ingredient solubility.
Carbomers are acrylic acid polymers that are used for a variety of purposes. They are used in pharmaceutical processes as suspending agents, gel bases, emulsifiers, and binding agents. They are also used as artificial tears. Carbomer 974P is a carbomer that is the major non-aqueous component (5% polymer, 94% water) of a proprietary formulation called BufferGel, which also contains dibasic potassium phosphate, magnesium sulfate, dibasic sodium phosphate, sorbic acid, monobasic sodium phosphate, and disodium EDTA.