Silicone oil What is silicone oil?
Silicone oil is the general name for organic silicone fluids. It is produced synthetically from monomer Si (metallic silicon) as raw material through reaction with CH3Cl, distillation and separation, hydrolysis, polymerization and other processes.
Structurally, it is mainly divided into two categories: one is linear polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS); the other is low molecular weight cyclic volatile methylsiloxane (VMS). Among them, linear polydimethylsiloxane is the most common, with the largest dosage and widest application range. In this article, when we refer to “silicone fluid” we specifically refer to linear polydimethylsiloxane.
Because silicone oil has many excellent physical and chemical properties, such as odorless, colorless and transparent, good temperature stability, easy to spread, hydrophobic, easy to film, chemically inert, resistant to UV radiation, defoaming, insulation, etc., it is widely used In many industries such as home care products, medicine, pharmacy, food, textile, ink, papermaking, fermentation, coatings, printing and dyeing, and wastewater treatment.
Application of silicone oil in cosmetics
In the 1940s, the American company Revlon launched a silicone-containing skin cream called “Silicane Skin Lotion.” This was the first time silicone oil was used in personal care products. Nowadays, silicone oil has been widely used in creams, lotions, makeup, antiperspirants, shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, lipsticks, shaving creams and other products to emollient, condition, stabilize emulsions, film, and maintain viscosity. Adjusting, dispersing, defoaming, anticoagulation and other functions.
Among them, hair care products and skin care products are the earliest and most widely used categories of silicone oil.
Hair care: Adding silicone oil to shampoo can effectively improve the combing performance of hair, reduce friction, reduce the possibility of (female) hair loss caused by improper combing, and also reduce the adverse effects of anti-dandruff agents.
Skin care: In skin care products, the emollient effect of silicone oil is mainly achieved by forming a breathable oil film on the skin surface. This oil film allows the evaporated water on the skin surface to pass through, and prevents excessive evaporation of skin moisture.
The oil film formed by various silicone oils is waterproof and will not significantly hinder the penetration of water vapor and air. At the same time, some studies have found that the film formed by silicone oil on the skin surface is not closed, but a semipermeable film, which is less irritating to the skin and does not cause acne. It can even be used for daily skin care for patients with sensitive skin such as acne.
Summarize
The unique molecular structure of silicone oil determines that this type of polymer has excellent physical and chemical properties. Over the past few decades, advances in synthesis, purification and characterization technologies have greatly promoted the application of silicone oils in the cosmetics industry. What is it? What are the applications of silicone oil in cosmetics?
