Agar Agar Powder (Certified Organic) Inci: Gelidium Amansii (Agar)
Agar is a jelly-like substance derived from red algae. It is used to gel, thicken, and stabilize cosmetic formulations. Agar Agar, given its name from the Malay word for “Gelidium”. It was discovered that Agar was the ideal substrate to culture bacteria as it was unable to be digested by microorganisms, and had a much higher melting point than gelatin.
Being insoluble in cold water, Agar is able to absorb as much as twenty times its weight and dissolves readily in boiling water. Its high heat tolerance, solidifying at just under 100°F, makes it ideal for cosmetic uses. Agar Agar is able to form gels far below the melting temperature and is able to gel at concentrations as low as 0.04%, though it is ideally used at 1-2% concentrations in your final formulation.
Today, Agar is used in a wide variety of applications, from culinary, to dentistry, to cosmetic uses.
