Ingredient Spotlight: Carob

Ingredient Spotlight · Plant Active

The Carob

The gum of the carob tree. A natural thickener that coats and suspends, carob gum structures the texture of scrubs for precise, comfortable exfoliation.

The portrait of a Mediterranean pod, long a natural substitute for cocoa.

ThickeningSuspendingSofteningNaturalTexturizing
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Common name
Carob, carob gum, locust bean gum.
INCI name
Ceratonia Siliqua Gum.
Family, type
Fabaceae (legumes); natural polysaccharide, texturizing and suspending agent.
Found in nature
The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) grows around the Mediterranean, notably in Spain, Italy and Morocco; the gum is extracted from the seeds inside its long brown pods.
How it's obtained
The seeds are separated from the pod, then ground and purified to obtain a gum powder rich in galactomannans.
Typical concentration
0.1% to 1%, as a texturizing agent.
Organoleptic properties
Appearance: beige powder that forms a viscous gel in water; Scent: neutral.
Physical characteristics
Water-soluble; its galactomannans give it strong thickening and suspending power, able to keep a scrub's exfoliating particles evenly suspended1.
Benefits
Thickening, suspending, softening, texture-stabilizing.
Cosmetic indications
Grain-based exfoliating formulas that call for a precise, comfortable texture; all skin types.

Did you know?A little history

Carob pods, rich in natural sugar, long served as a substitute for cocoa, hence the nickname "poor man's chocolate."

But it's the seed, not the pulp, that interests skincare: its gum, rich in galactomannans, is one of the most widely used natural thickeners for structuring textures without resorting to synthetic polymers1.

Yon-Ka uses it in Gommage Yon-Ka, for a precise texture that keeps the exfoliating grains evenly distributed.

General useA thickener, not a treatment active

Carob gum doesn't act directly on the skin the way a hydrating or anti-aging active does: its role is technical, structuring a formula's texture so that it stays homogeneous and pleasant to apply1.

A precision ingredient: in a scrub, a poorly controlled texture can make exfoliating grains too abrasive or unevenly spread. Carob ensures even exfoliation from one use to the next.

Cosmetic useIts properties on skin

  • ThickeningIt structures the texture for precise, comfortable application.
  • SuspendingIt keeps exfoliating particles evenly suspended1.
  • SofteningIts natural gel adds glide during application.
  • StabilizingIt keeps the formula consistent over time.

FormulationCarob at Yon-Ka

Ceratonia Siliqua Gum

Carob seed gum

The texturizing agent in Gommage Yon-Ka, ensuring an even distribution of exfoliating grains for an effective, comfortable step.

Gommage Yon-Ka

In cosmeticsUses

  • Scrubs and exfoliants with a precise texture;
  • A natural stabilizing agent for formulas.

The Yon-Ka approach

Every scrub grain counts: carob gum ensures that Gommage Yon-Ka keeps, tube after tube, the same precise texture and the same comfortable application, an invisible detail essential to the skincare experience.

The science of the active, the sensoriality of the plant.

How to useAdding it to your ritual

  1. Once or twice a week
    Gommage Yon-Ka on damp skin, with a gentle circular massage, then rinse.

Good to knowStorage and precautions

A stable ingredient that needs no special storage once in the formula.

Very well tolerated, with no known contraindications for topical use.

Go furtherSources

  1. COSMILE Europe (Cosmetics Europe), cosmetic ingredient database, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum. cosmileeurope.eu
Selection

Our carob treatment

The Yon-Ka formula where carob gum is a key ingredient.

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