Sodium CMC Powder - 120 Gm, Pure Carboxymethyl Cellulose Sodium Powder, Raw Material | CMC Powder for Cosmetic Products, Paints, Household Products and Laundry Items | Non-GMO, Paraben Free

Fairly decent sized amount. 5 stars

Pure, high quality powder, no impurities.

too expensive

I've used CMC powder in the past as a thickener for liquid soaps. To be quite honest, it didn't produce the nicest consistency on its own. Used as the only thickener in a water-thin solution, it can get a little slimy. However, when I combined it with a little sodium chloride (yes, table salt) solution, it produced a nice thin gel that was easy to dispense with a pump and didn't immediately run off your hands into the sink. As far as I can tell, this powder is exactly the same as the one I've had sitting on my shelf for the past 5 or 6 years. It performs identically in terms of solubility and usage rate. It probably has about a million and one uses as a thickener for everything from soaps and cosmetics to sanitizers and ceramic glazes. They use huge bags of this stuff as an industrial drilling lubricant, so I'm guessing it's dirt cheap if you buy it in bulk. Honestly, though, a tiny bit goes a very long way (it's powerful stuff), so don't buy a giant bag of it. Great to have around the house for various uses.

I've tried most techniques I know to dissolve this CMC powder, including various pre-dissolve steps, high shear extended mixing, heating, etc., - at least short of using aggressive solvents like acetone as an additive to the water (I did try an alcohol additive). I can't get past suspension. Too much work for my purposes. I'll go back to HEC for now.