Silicones and silicone derivatives for cosmetics

Silicones are a popular ingredient in personal care and cosmetic products. They are synthetic products prepared from sand or quartz, among the most abundant minerals on earth. Silicones are available in numerous formats providing the formulator with endless possibilities to introduce luscious softness and shine to hair care products, luxurious texture to skin preparations with excellent spreading, long-lasting and protecting effects.

There are two types of silicones: volatile silicone fluids and non-volatile dimethicones. Volatile silicone fluids consist of cyclic and linear molecules having a viscosity of less than 5 cst. The term of cyclomethicone refers to a series of cyclic silicone compounds. Non-volatile dimethicones are optically clear, odourless and non-flammable. They are often referred to as silicone oil, dimethyl polysiloxane, and polydimethylsiloxane, and take viscosities within a broad range from 5 cst to 1 million cst.

According to the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), silicones do not pose a risk to human health when used in cosmetic products 1. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), an expert scientific panel, has also concluded that silicones do not pose a risk to human health from their use in cosmetics 2.

However, some people avoid silicones in skin care products because they believe that silicones only provide superficial benefits to the skin without contributing to its overall health 3. Silicones are best known for their occlusive properties, which is a fancy way of saying that they form a barrier-like coating on the skin that’s resistant to both water and air. This makes them useful in wound healing and burn units, where they can protect the wound while allowing it to breathe 3.

In summary, silicones are a unique and multifunctional set of properties that combine to ensure silicones stay at the top of the formulator’s toolkit, delivering superior aesthetics and unmatched, cost-effective, sensory benefits. There are no known health concerns with using silicone in cosmetics, but some people may prefer to avoid them for personal reasons

You can create the most beautiful formulas in the cosmetic industry with silicones, silicone emulsions, silanes, silicone resins, dimethicones, cyclopentasiloxanes and related products.

Silicones improve spreadability, color fastness and provide a silky feeling on the skin. Silicone products breathe and do not seal the skin. Silicone ingredients in conditioners provide better protection for the hair and protect dyed hair for longer!

Silicones are used in gels, conditioners, balms, markers, etc.

We supply a large part of the silicone cosmetics range from BRB international BV in small packages so that you can easily and cost-effectively make and test formulas.

We also offer a lot of information about standard formulations based on BRB's years of knowledge.