Gellan gum is an exopolysaccharide of glucose, glucuronic acid, and rhamnose with a molecular weight of 5 × 105 Da produced by Sphingomonas elodea. A unique property of gellan gum is its thermostability and viscosity of the solution remains stable over a wide range of temperature. Gellan gum is widely used in shampoos, body washes, sprayable sunscreens, etc. Gellan gum acts as emulsion stabilizer by preventing the separation of oil and water. In cosmetic formulations, gellan gum acts as suspending agent by stabilizing the emulsion and keeping it uniform against temperature fluctuations. Gellan gum is a gelling agent, but not a thickening agent as it does not change the rheology of solution as efficient as the other gums. Because of this property, gellan forms a thin gel that makes it useful in shampoos and body washes. Apart from that, gellan gum gives a nice sensation on application to skin.
 
Structural modification of gellan gum changes the functional properties and its performance.  Gellan gum comes in the form of low acyl and high acyl glyceryl forms an elastic gel.  
 
What is the difference between low and high acyl gellan gum?

Low acyl gellan gum products form firm, non-elastic, brittle gels, whereas high acyl gellan gum forms soft, very elastic, non-brittle gels. Varying the ratios of the two forms of gellan produces a wide variety of textures.