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A tuft of deep wine-red Irish moss seaweed with flat forked fronds beside a pinch of the dried seaweed

BOTANICAL EXTRACT

Carrageenan (Irish Moss)

Carrageenan, Chondrus Crispus

A natural gelling carbohydrate from red seaweeds such as Irish moss, used in skincare to give gels, masks and patches their soft, flexible texture and to help keep skin in good condition.

Source

Red seaweeds such as Irish moss (Chondrus crispus)

Used for

Soft gel textures, skin conditioning

How it works

The seaweed that sets a gel.

Carrageenan is a family of natural gelling carbohydrates found in red seaweeds. Irish moss, Chondrus crispus, is one of the classic seaweeds it is obtained from, so you may see either name on an ingredient list: Carrageenan for the refined gelling carbohydrate, or Chondrus Crispus for the seaweed itself.

In cosmetics carrageenan is a gel former and thickener, while Chondrus Crispus is listed as skin conditioning, helping to keep skin in good condition. Kappa carrageenan also works especially well with konjac glucomannan: the two interact synergistically to form a combined gel, the basis of soft, flexible hydrogel textures.

It suits gels, masks, patches and creams, morning or night.
  1. 01

    A natural gelling carbohydrate from red seaweeds such as Irish moss

  2. 02

    Gives gels, masks and patches a soft, flexible texture

  3. 03

    Helps keep skin in good condition

Questions

Are carrageenan and Chondrus crispus the same?
They are closely linked but not identical. Chondrus Crispus is the ingredient name for the Irish moss seaweed itself, also known as carrageen, while carrageenan is the gelling carbohydrate found in Irish moss and related red seaweeds. Both appear on ingredient lists, and both bring carrageenan's gel-forming character to a formula. (COSMILE Europe; Philippe et al., 2026)
What does carrageenan do in skincare?
It is a gel former and thickener that helps give a formula its body and texture, and Chondrus Crispus is also listed as skin conditioning. Kappa carrageenan also interacts synergistically with konjac glucomannan to form a combined gel, which is why the pair is used for soft, flexible gels. (COSMILE Europe; Wu et al., 2021)

About the plant

Irish moss, Chondrus crispus, is a red seaweed also known as carrageen. Its carbohydrates include a complex mixture of carrageenans, and the carrageenan used in cosmetics is obtained from red seaweeds such as this. (COSMILE Europe; Philippe et al., 2026)

Some red seaweeds, Irish moss among them, show structural colour: a shimmer produced as light interferes with the finely layered outer cuticle of the seaweed. In Irish moss that cuticle contains a complex mixture of carrageenans. (Philippe et al., 2026)

The research

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