Hydroxyethylcellulose

A water soluble thickening agent that creates beautiful crystal clear gels without the tacky skin feel of other gums.

Hydroxyethylcellulose

Fine off-white powder

0.1–3% (you could use more, but it would be very thick!)

A soft powder

Nothing noticeable

6.7 (1% solution)

Non-ionic

Water

It provides fantastic gel-like thickening without the snottiness of gums like xanthan and guar. It also boosts surfactant performance noticeably.

It’s easily my favourite plant-derived thickening gum; I’d recommend it over xanthan and guar.

Creates beautiful, clear, carbomer-like gels and noticeably boosts surfactant performance. Has a much better leave-on skin feel than gums like xanthan and guar.

Harder to find than gums like xanthan and guar.

I haven’t come across anything that works quite like HEC does. Xanthan gum will offer similar thickening, but gives a far less pleasant end consistency and does not boost lather the way HEC does.

Whisk the hydroxyethylcellulose into some glycerin to break up any lumps before adding the rest of the water phase. It will thicken over the course of several hours without heating; the thickening process can be sped up by gently heating the mixture in a water bath.

Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, hydroxyethylcellulose should last at least three years.

Make sure it has time to fully hydrate before continuing with your formulation to ensure a uniform end product.

30g (1oz)

Buy it from an online DIY ingredient supplier. Mine is from Essential Wholesale.