One of the most questioned ingredients is silicones in cosmetics, but are they really bad for skin or hair?

We are going to analyze what they are and what are the advantages and disadvantages of using cosmetics that contain them.

What are silicones in cosmetics?

Silicones are a polymer made up of Silicon and Oxygen. They are odorless, colorless, extreme temperature resistant and also spread easily. These properties make them a compound present in many scopes of our day-to-day (home cleaning, medicine, etc.) and, of course, in personal care products.

You can tell if a product contains silicones by looking at the ingredient list, since most of them end in -cone, -conol or -xane. Some of the most frequent that can be found are:

• Di- o Trimethicone

• Dimethiconol

• Amodimethicone

• Vinyl Dimethicone

• Siloxane

• Trisiloxane

• Polysilicone-nº

What are the advantages?

Silicones are used in many cosmetic products, especially makeup, as they have many advantages:

• They fill in wrinkles, fine lines and pores, leaving a smoother, soft and more imperfection-free skin appearance.

• Silicones provide a silky and non-greasy appearance, distributing the product uniformity.

• They retain the moisture of the skin, which gives us an effect of hydrated skin for longer.

• In deodorants, they avoid “white spots” due to salts, and soften the skin.

• In hair products, they soften the cuticles, leaving them silkier and shinier. It also protects it from external aggressions, such as cold, heat, the use of dryers, irons, etc.

What are the disadvantages?

The main disadvantage attributed to silicones is that they are considered to be occlusive for the skin, that is, they prevent it from perspiring by clogging the pores. When these become clogged, they stop fulfilling their secretory function correctly, thus accumulating fat in them, looking dirtier and therefore more dilated.

Although silicones do not absorb or penetrate the skin, they do remain on the surface. Hence, the so-called new generation silicones are emerging stronger, which are water-soluble silicones and therefore easier to remove with a good facial cleansing than traditional silicones.

Should I use silicones in cosmetics?

Most cosmetic products on the market contain silicones, but it is also true that there are already many brands that are launching products without this ingredient or with new generation silicones. What is crystal clear is that, although we already knew that facial cleansing is very important in a beauty routine, if you choose to use cosmetic products with silicones, it is much more so.

It is your choice!