In recent years, with the popularization of science, there are more and more skin care ingredient parties.
The criteria for their purchase of products are no longer price and brand, but to choose products containing corresponding ingredients according to the effects they need, such as the morning C and evening A that became popular in the early years.
They will also explore whether there are some "bad" ingredients in the ingredient list, such as silicone oil that has been pushed to the forefront.
However, is silicone oil really as terrible as it is said on the Internet?
What is silicone oil?
Silicone oil is a common name. The word "silicone oil" is almost invisible in the product ingredient list, but various "siloxanes" (essentially polysiloxane products), such as polydimethylsiloxane, cyclopentasiloxane, polydimethylsiloxane alcohol, phenyl trimethicone, etc., with thousands of family members.
These names look long and complicated, but they are actually easy to identify. As long as you see "silane" or "siloxane" in the name, it is a silicone oil ingredient.
Silicone oil is a light yellow, odorless, safe chemical. It was first used in industry and has powerful effects such as waterproof, dustproof and oil-proof.
In 1950, it was first used in cosmetics by an American company to make silicone hand cream. People found that it had better skin care and moisturizing effects than previous products, and the silicone oil ingredient was captured by the cosmetics industry.
So far, the gears of silicone oil in the cosmetics industry have begun to turn, and now it can be seen in almost all kinds of cosmetics.
Why is silicone oil added to cosmetics?
●Good skin feel
Take the most common polydimethylsiloxane as an example. It can increase the smoothness and delicateness of the skin without greasy feeling and residual feeling.
In other words, it has a good skin feel, which is a king bomb in skin care products. After all, skin feel determines most people's first impression of a certain skin care product.
Because of this characteristic, silicone oil is usually used more in sunscreen to reduce the stickiness of various sunscreens.
There are also moisturizing products. The main sealants in moisturizing products are petrolatum (Vaseline), lanolin, silicone oil (silicone derivatives), etc. Among them, petrolatum and lanolin have good sealing effects, but the skin feels sticky. It is okay to use in winter, but a bit reluctant in summer.
Although the sealing effect of silicone oil is slightly worse than the first two, it is not greasy, and it is more refreshing and comfortable to use in summer. It is also friendly to dry skin, so silicone oil is used frequently in moisturizing products.
● Waterproofness
Silicone oil has good waterproofness and can form a uniform waterproof, breathable and lubricating protective film on the skin surface.
Take trimethylsiloxysilicate as an example. It is a silicone oil film-forming agent. It is mostly added to cosmetics, such as lipstick, foundation, etc., which can firmly weld the makeup on the face to avoid the embarrassment of sweating and makeup removal.
● Softener
As a softener, silicone oil can fill the gaps between the scales on the surface of the hair, form a protective film for the hair, and make the hair soft, smooth and shiny. Many shampoos, hair masks, conditioners and other products contain silicone oil derivatives.
But I don't know when it started, silicone oil is regarded as a "monster" on the Internet. People blame it for clogging pores, hair loss, and acne. As a result, many shampoo products have launched "silicone-free" models to prove themselves. But to be honest, the dry feeling of washing without silicone oil is not suitable for everyone.
Does silicone oil really cause acne?
It can't be said that there is absolutely no risk. At least, most of the accusations against it on the Internet are nonsense. People really don't need to be afraid of silicone.
Silicone organic compounds are macromolecules. They usually stay on the surface of the skin with other moisturizing ingredients. They cannot be absorbed by the skin and will not clog pores.
And hair loss has nothing to do with silicone oil.
At present, most members of silicone oil are non-irritating to the skin, not absorbed by human skin and gastrointestinal tract, and are almost non-toxic, but they are irritating to the eyes, so you should be careful to avoid getting the product into your eyes when applying sunscreen, makeup, washing your hair, etc.
A small number of members may pose potential risks. Europe has restrictions on cyclotetrasiloxane (D4), cyclopentasiloxane (D5), and cyclohexasiloxane (D6) in silicone oils. There are currently no restrictions in China. If you are concerned, you can avoid using products containing these three ingredients.