Silicones in beauty products: what gives?

[Tangles]

Recently I have been reading labels on my beauty products ( I know, I need a hobby ) and I discovered that ALMOST EVERY FREAKING THING HAS SILICONES IN IT!

My face lotion. My foundation. My sunscreen. My hair products (yes, I still own a bottle of Frizz Ease Serum and Tresemme curl stuff).

Can all these cones in our daily routines be healthy?

For example I have dry skin on my face too. Could silicones in my moisturizer be the cause?

There must be a reason why they use them so extensively though... or maybe they are just cheap and seem like a quick fix to skin/hair dryness... ?

[minkstole]

Silicones are used in facecreams and makeup-products to give a smoothe surface. I´m not certain you can compare haircare to facecare since hair is basically dead and skin is very much alive. I´m by no means an expert on this, but I would think it would make a difference somehow.
Anyways, if you are very concerned about it and want to avoid silicones, you could oilcleanse and use oil as a shaving agent and moisturerizer. I don´t think you can avoid it completely in makeup, since even mineralmakeup have bits of it. (Maybe ricepowder?)

ETA: I have a barriercream that I use for skiing etc, that is basically liquid silicone and it does wonders for keeping frost out the my chubby cheeks.

[<She>]

I no expert, but I think that silicones may be substituting the need for oil in the products.

It gives the product easier spreadability, forms a thin layer over the skin so when applied it looks even, for example, it gives consistency to the foundation so it doesn't streak, it prevents the oil separating from the other ingredients in the bottle etc.

About the dry skin you have, maybe it is the wrong product all together. Maybe you need another type of ingredient combination.

Also, there are many types of silicones, and not all products have them in large quantity. If you want to see how your skin feels with less 'cones, look for moisturizers that have 'cones listed in the middle or near the end of the ingr. list.

HTH

[bunnii]

the only products I use on my face are foundation and concealer, but I don't wear them everyday. I don't use face wash or toner or moisturiser anymore, just oil, and vinegar. And my dry skin has all but gone :) I was using so much moisturiser and I do think that the cones may have had something to do with my dry skin. I don't think it's healthy to have loads of cones in your daily products.

[Darian Moone]

I noticed the same thing yesterday Tangles. I was contemplating buying a gel lip gloss/blush set from Smashbox but then realized it was silicone based and changed my mind. I'm trying to get a little bit more natural (as in ingredients) with my makeup and smearing silicone on my face is not in the plan. Bad enough I use it on my hair.

[chloeishere]

Yes, it's becoming more and more prevalent in facial cosmetics, especially. I remember that I loved L'oreal True Match foundation, but it made me break out horribly, because my skin does not like silicone; it likes silicones even less than my hair! It gives a product easy spreadability, but I also think it makes it a lot more "smear prone." Companies use it because it's cheap, readily available, and makes a product more marketable-- isn't it nice to spread a velvety foundation that spreads easily and evenly? Even if it does make you break out, but-- how do you know it's your foundation, anyway?

I have the original formula sunscreen from Everyday Minerals (they've since reformulated to remove the silicone) and I can't wear it because it breaks me out, hardcore. Because it has silicone.

I got a facial cleaner and moisturizer set (it was free, or I wouldn't have gotten it without reading the ingredients list), and both items have silicone in them. It's ridiculous-- I gave them a few tries, but inevitably my skin hated it, and now it's wasting away in the bathroom.

[Darian Moone]

So that's why True Match spreads so nicely. Darn. I have to learn to read labels more. In the trash it goes too. :(

[Magicknthenight]

*Le sigh* yea and what makes it REALLY tricky is everything SAYS its all nat-ural.
I can usually tell from the ingredients if it really is but a lot of people cant. I'm not an expert i just recognize them. So when a friend uses a "natural" shampoo or something and i see all the ingredients..i think..how can this be natural?!
I use AO, don't really wear makeup except for occasionally (rarely now) and then that's always interesting haha..colors and etc.
Sometimes i use a body soap we have in the shower otherwise water is pretty much good. Hmm my face soap probably has some I'm not sure. i never really looked at that :confused: but i haven't had any bad effects rather then it not doing what i want -.-
Anywho...went into a little ramble there. But it seems like more and more people are trying to find the most natural thing. and a lot of products are trying to keep up o-o and trying new things. so that's good. maybe one day nothing will have cheapy silicone and everything on the ingredients list will be pronounceable.

[Tangles]

I mean, I'm not saying that silicones are inherently evil, I'm just saying they're certainly not natural, and it shouldn't be something that our body NEEDS, hmm? I can understand using a bit in makeup to make it spread better, but in lotion? Why?

[GlassEyes]

Silicone isn't necessarily BAD you know.

Silicone is used instead of oil for spreadibility, smoothing, and moisturizing. My guess would be because in the 'normal, non-LHC world), oil on the skin can be associated with gresiness rather than niceness.

[mira-chan]

It's a real pain looking for stuff without them. I have dry skin even without them and everything recommended for dry skin has them. They don't help with dry skin at all. They can make the skin feel even dryer.

My big problem is that I'm sensitive to them. Some make my skin go in red polka dots, others (dimethicone definitely) make me itch. Most lotions and sunscreens have dimethicone. :mad: Last time I used a sunscreen with it (all other ingredients were ok, it was Blue Lizard sensitive skin for face sunblock) I was scratching away at any skin that had the sunscreen on it the whole day. It the face espcially. :(

ETA: And what the heck is it with making all sensitive skin products full of silicone. :rant: They actually advertise it that way too. No oil, no irritants, just soothing protective silicone. :rolleyes: As if silicones can't possibly be irritants themselves.

[Forever_Sophie]

Thanks for mentioning this! My skin's been breaking out (hasn't done so in several months), it must be the intense new sunscreen I've been using! I've been wracking my brain to figure out what's causing it. Hmm....thanks again!

[rapunzhell13]

I noticed this awhile back too after becoming more aware of what products I use on myself. It was a wake-up call, that's for sure. A wake-up call to do my own research on ingredients and always read the label before using a product.