In 1950, an American company innovatively integrated silicone oil into the cosmetics industry and successfully developed silicone hand cream. This breakthrough discovery has pleasantly surprised users to experience that compared to previous products, silicone oil containing hand creams have shown significant advantages in moisturizing and skincare.
The application of silicone oil, an innovative ingredient, is gradually becoming popular in the skincare industry. Nowadays, when you open various skincare packaging, you often find that it contains silicone oil. So, what exactly is silicone oil?
As an important choice for our daily hair care, the composition of hair care products has always been a concern. These products typically contain four key categories of ingredients: first, surfactants, which are responsible for cleaning hair and scalp; Secondly, additives are used to enhance the stability and user experience of the product; Furthermore, there are hair care ingredients aimed at nourishing and protecting hair; Finally, there is a special type of functional ingredient that brings additional benefits such as anti-aging and anti shedding to the product.
Silicone oil, as one of the hair care ingredients, plays an important role in the hair washing process. When emulsified silicone oil suspended in shampoo comes into contact with the surface of hair, it quickly adsorbs onto the hair, forming a moisturizing protective layer. This protective layer not only makes the hair smooth and shiny, but also increases its softness, making combing easy.
Due to the insolubility of silicone oil in water, long-term excessive use of shampoo containing silicone oil can lead to the accumulation of silicone oil on the surface of hair and hair follicles, hindering the normal metabolism of hair and making it appear flat and lifeless. In contrast, although silicone free shampoo removes the protective component of silicone oil, some brands in the market still use surfactants similar to those used in silicone containing shampoo. This type of silicone free shampoo may cause greater irritation to the scalp while lacking silicone oil protection.
After in-depth exploration of the impact of silicone oil on hair, we further focus on whether the widely used silicone oil in the current market is truly safe and harmless?

Research on the Safety of Silicone Oil
Since silicone oil has been widely used in various fields, there have been numerous studies on its safety. These studies not only explored the potential impacts of silicone oil on the environment, flora and fauna, and human health, but also conducted in-depth analysis from multiple dimensions such as natural decomposition, biological metabolism, allergenicity, physical safety, chemical safety, and toxicology. At present, a large number of research reports have revealed the safety performance of silicone oil.
The United States established the Cosmetic Ingredient Evaluation Expert Group (CIR) in 1976, which conducted comprehensive analysis and evaluation of organic silicon raw materials. They released safety reports for various organic silicon raw material products, including linear polydimethylsiloxane, in 2003, 2011, 2014, and 2016, respectively. These reports all indicate that silicone oil is a safe substance suitable for use as a cosmetic ingredient.

Safety Assessment Report on Linear Polydimethylsiloxane
In 2011, the European Centre for Chemical Ecology and Toxicology (ECETOC) conducted a comprehensive safety assessment of linear polydimethylsiloxane and released a corresponding report. The report points out that the safety risks of such silicone oil products to the environment, animals, plants, and humans are all at a low level.
Following the assessment by the European Centre for Chemical Ecology and Toxicology (ECETOC), the US Committee for the Evaluation of Cosmetic Ingredients (CIR) also released a safety assessment report for silicone oil on January 12, 2021. The report states that silicone oil used in cosmetics is safe. It is generally believed that under normal use, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) does not pose a health hazard. However, we also need to be vigilant about the specific effects and potential risks that different types of silicone oils may bring, especially low-quality silicone oils, which require further research and attention.

Poor quality silicone oil
If the name of silicone oil in the shampoo ingredient list is ambiguous or contains non mainstream silicone oil components that have not been fully studied, there may be unstable factors or potential risks in its quality. Poor quality shampoos often focus only on the thickening effect of silicone oil, while neglecting the balanced combination of other ingredients. This shampoo can temporarily give hair a smooth feeling, but after long-term use, the hair will quickly return to a rough state, even producing a greasy feeling, and the touch will become stiff.
It may not give the hair sufficient luster or give the hair an unnatural shine, giving the impression that the hair has not been thoroughly cleaned.

Residual inferior silicone oil can cause a series of problems, such as excessive scalp oil secretion, hair follicle blockage, leading to scalp allergic reactions, itching, pain, and even increased dandruff.
However, everything has two sides. After a thorough understanding of the drawbacks of inferior silicone oil, we further explore the unique advantages of high-quality silicone oil in the field of hair care.
Silicon, as a component with excellent physical and chemical properties, can effectively stabilize other functional ingredients, allowing them to maintain their activity even in non ideal environments and extend their storage time.
High quality shampoo will clearly indicate the type of silicone oil used, such as polydimethylsiloxane, which has undergone strict quality control and safety performance testing and is widely used in various shampoo products. In addition, high-quality shampoo also incorporates various beneficial ingredients to complement the efficacy of silicone oil, further promoting hair health. For example, the addition of plant essence, vitamins and other nutrients can effectively improve the overall health level of hair.
At the same time, these shampoos also contain mild surfactants that can effectively clean hair while avoiding excessive removal of scalp oil. When combined with silicone oil, they provide consumers with a better shampooing experience. It is worth noting that most of the components in silicone oil are non irritating to the skin and are not absorbed by human skin and gastrointestinal tract, making them almost non-toxic. However, it has a certain irritating effect on the eyes, so special care should be taken to avoid the product entering the eyes when applying sunscreen, applying makeup, or washing hair.
Taking polydimethylsiloxane as an example, this silicone oil component can significantly enhance the smoothness and delicacy of the skin, and there is no greasy or residual feeling after use. High quality silicone oil is non irritating to the scalp, and after use, the scalp feels refreshed and comfortable without any discomfort such as itching or redness. In addition, these silicone oils also have good waterproof properties.
High quality silicone oil is not only smooth and delicate, but also forms a uniform and waterproof breathable protective film, providing excellent lubrication protection for hair.
Silicone oil, as a softener, can deeply fill the gaps between the scales on the surface of hair, thereby constructing a protective barrier for hair. This characteristic makes hair appear soft, smooth, and highly shiny after cleaning. Long term touch can clearly feel the softness it brings, and the hair is no longer easily tangled, making it easy to comb.
There are also moisturizing products worth mentioning. The sealing agents commonly contained in these products include petrolatum (i.e. Vaseline), lanolin, and silicone oil (siloxane derivatives). Although mineral fat and lanolin have excellent sealing effects, their skin texture is relatively sticky, and they may feel slightly heavy when used in summer. In comparison, although silicone oil has a slightly inferior sealing effect, it is very refreshing and non greasy to use, making it very suitable for summer use and also very friendly to dry skin. Therefore, the frequency of using silicone oil in moisturizing products is also quite high.

Don't misunderstand 'silicone oil' anymore
It just wants to silently work in shampoo
Choose the right shampoo for yourself
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To clear the injustice of 'silicone oil'