These limitations most silicone alternatives have been designed to replace D4/D5. Without necessarily ruling out silicone products, Innospec recommends that Volasil 8100 (INCI: dimethicone, trisiloxane) provides the right combination of volatility, lubricity and spreadability to give hair and skin products a dry, smooth finish.
It has a similar volatility to D4 and is recommended for antiperspirants and hair sprays that require fast drying times. Volasil DM-1.5 is a dimethicone that is slightly more volatile than D5. It gives hair and skin products a dry, smooth finish.
Innospec’s Dimethisil DM-5 and Dimethisil DM-6 are recommended as alternatives to D6 in hair and skin products, as solvents for active ingredients and as diluents for silicone rubbers and elastomers.
These and other possibilities are described in detail in Tony Gough’s “Recipes without Cycles” talk at In-cosmetics Global 2019. IOTA claims that its IOTA DM 55 is a low-viscosity polydimethylsiloxane with similar sensory characteristics to D5 and can be used as a drop-in replacement.
Due to its similar sensory characteristics, IOTA DM 66 can be used as a direct replacement for D5 or D6. A&E Connock offers low viscosity dimethicone in 5, 10, 20 and 50cs, as well as a blend of C13-C14 isoparaffins and low viscosity dimethicone, which can be considered cyclomethicone alternatives to alkanes.
