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Cosmetic ingredient dictionary

Polyacrylamide in cosmetics: what it is and what it does

Polyacrylamide is a cosmetic ingredient that leaves a thin film on skin, hair or nails. The EU allows it only with limits or conditions. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 123 products, most often facial creams.

By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 3 sourcesHow we check

What does Polyacrylamide do in a product?

In a cosmetic product, Polyacrylamide leaves a thin film on skin, hair or nails, reduces static, so hair stays flat and holds a powder or a pressed product together. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: film forming, antistatic and binding.

film formingantistaticbinding

What other names and numbers does Polyacrylamide have?

CAS number
9003-05-8
CosIng reference
36687

Is Polyacrylamide restricted in the EU?

Yes, it has limits. The EU allows it only with limits or conditions of use, such as a maximum amount or a warning on the label (Annex III of Regulation 1223/2009, entry 66).

The annex entry sets the exact limits, the products it may be used in and any warning the label must carry.

Which products contain Polyacrylamide?

Open Beauty Facts finds Polyacrylamide in the ingredient lists of 123 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often facial creams, body care and day creams.

  • Facial creams10
  • Body care10
  • Day creams5
  • Face care3

Products with it, by country of sale: France 32 · Australia 27 · United States 19 · Spain 7.

Counted on 13 October 2026 from Open Beauty Facts, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where Polyacrylamide turns up, not how much of the market it is.

On these listsRestricted in the EU

Bravoora reads this ingredient for everyone you shop for: an allergy or intolerance, a vegan or vegetarian diet, a calorie or protein goal, and the labels on supplements and skincare too. Build a profile · For dermatologists, dietitians and doctors

Sources

The job, the description and the EU annex entry are CosIng’s; the fragrance allergens are the EU Annex III names Bravoora’s label checker reads; the product counts are Open Beauty Facts’.

  1. European Commission: CosIng cosmetic ingredient database (functions, description, EU annex entry)
  2. Open Beauty Facts: product database, 77,506 products, read 13 October 2026, ODbL
  3. EU Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (the annexes)

Contains information from Open Beauty Facts, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL). Read the licence · Download this dictionary’s data · How we check

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