Melanie Rud is a writer living in Chicago with 10 years of experience in cosmetology. She covers all Byrdie's skin care products, from ingredients to acne recommendations.

The list of ingredients you might find in the foods you eat and the skin care products you use may not be that long. Coconut, olive oil and certain herbs can be found in the kitchen and bathroom. However, you may not know that there is another popular ingredient that intersects with the food and skin care fields. We are talking about xanthan gum. Although you may have seen it listed on the ingredient label of your preferred almond milk, you may be surprised to find that it may also be present in your favorite moisturizer. Earlier, Hadley King, a dermatologist certified by the New York City Council, a cosmetic chemist and the creator of StimuNail Stacey Steinmentz, explained why this is the case and what you need to know.

Ingredient type: thickener and emulsifier

Main advantages: Although it is mainly used for formulation purposes, xanthan gum may have some skin conditioning properties because it is a polysaccharide or sugar molecule.

Who should use it: According to our experts, it is not necessarily an ingredient that anyone needs to look for or avoid. In most cases, it is the formulator who uses it, not the consumer.

Suitable for: It is suitable for almost all ingredients.

Don't interact with: There are no known ingredients that negatively affect xanthan gum.

"Xanthan gum is a common food and skin care ingredient, most commonly used as a thickener or as a combination of other ingredients," Steinmetz explains. "It is formed when sugar is fermented with a bacterium called Xanthomonas brassicae to produce a similar sticky substance," she added. In foods, this sticky substance helps thicken foods such as salad dressings, nut milks, and sauces. In skin care products, “it creates a beautiful smoothness and silky feel on the skin, helps the ease of use of the product, and prevents formula separation,” she said.

To be clear here is that xanthan gum is very common in many skin care formulations, but this is not because it does some miracles on your skin. King explained that this is almost entirely because the ingredient is an emulsifier that can create a product with a smooth and uniform texture. At this point, it is definitely more beneficial to the texture of the product than your skin, she added, noting that most cosmetic formulations only contain a small amount of xanthan gum, usually between 0.0001 and 2%. "You only need a minimum of quality to get the desired texture," she said.

As an added benefit for formulators, xanthan gum is the only thickener of natural origin commonly used in skin care products. "It is considered very safe and is even allowed to be included in products that are considered'natural' because of its source," she said. (Xanthan gum can be extracted from corn, wheat, soybeans, and dairy products.) In its list of advantages, there is also the fact that its uses are truly endless. "Xanthan gum does not require heating or cooling to function, and it can be easily added to skin care products or food formulations like cornstarch and other common food ingredients," Steinmetz points out.

In the final analysis, "there are not many studies on the benefits of xanthan gum on the skin. Most of the research is done around the benefits and concerns related to xanthan gum because it is related to the intake of xanthan gum. The food we eat, "Steinmetz said. However, it may have some skin conditioning properties. She said that the polysaccharides (AKA sugars) in xanthan gum can indeed lock in moisture to help maintain the level of skin hydration. Nevertheless, xanthan gum is by no means the active ingredient you need to start looking for the next time you buy skin care products.

In view of all the above, it is not surprising that most side effects occur when consuming xanthan gum. Steinmetz points out that large intakes can sometimes produce laxative effects and cause digestive problems. King pointed out that because it usually comes from corn, wheat, soy or dairy products, people with allergies may react to it, whether ingested or topically used. Therefore, although the ingredient itself is quite inert and well tolerated because it is related to skin care—that is, it is not irritating—someone may be truly allergic to it, Jin said.

Well, that's it-there really is no wrong way to use it. Moreover, at the risk of breaking records, xanthan gum is indeed not a skin care ingredient that you need to consider so much. Its texture-enhancing ability means it can be found in many different products, from creams to masks to cleansers, even in clean and natural beauty spaces. (Oh, you can even buy xanthan gum online and use it to make DIY pore strips.) That's all there is to it.

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