Hydrogels are cross-linked networks of macromolecular compounds characterized by high water absorption capacity. Such materials find a wide range of biomedical applications. Several polymeric hydrogels can also be used in cosmetics. Herein, the structure, properties and selected applications of hydrogels in cosmetics are discussed in general. Detailed examples from scientific literature are also shown. In this review paper, most common biopolymers used in cosmetics are presented in detail together with issues related to skin treatment and hair conditioning. Hydrogels based on collagen, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, and other polysaccharides have been characterized. New trends in the preparation of hydrogels based on biopolymer blends as well as bigels have been shown. Moreover, biopolymer hydrogels employment in encapsulation has been mentioned.

水凝胶是大分子化合物的交联网络，具有高吸水能力。此类材料具有广泛的生物医学应用。几种聚合物水凝胶也可用于化妆品中。本文对水凝胶的结构、性质和在化妆品中的应用进行了一般性讨论。还显示了科学文献中的详细示例。在这篇综述论文中，详细介绍了化妆品中最常见的生物聚合物以及与皮肤护理和头发调理相关的问题。基于胶原蛋白、壳聚糖、透明质酸和其他多糖的水凝胶已得到表征。基于生物聚合物混合物和大凝胶的水凝胶制备的新趋势已经显示出来。此外，还提到了生物聚合物水凝胶在封装中的应用。