Silicones have become one of the most widely used ingredients in the personal care industry, providing essential qualities to products for more than 50 years.
It’s hard to imagine the range of products we have today without them. But perhaps this ubiquity and its “chemical” INCI designation have sparked a backlash among some consumers, who worry about performance and environmental issues with silicones, even though there’s no evidence for this.
Ever since consumers started turning to natural ingredients, ingredients have come under increased scrutiny, and from there there has been growing interest in the sustainability aspect. This has then led to negative marketing of the ingredients contained in products, and silicones have become a feature of this “free from pollution” movement.
There’s an old adage: “A lie spreads before the truth comes out,” and that sentiment has never been more evident since social media became a staple pastime for many of us. Influencers have become an important source of information for consumers and manufacturers, while small campaign groups can raid an ingredient based on flimsy evidence and still manage to generate a new “get rid of” trend. There is a lot of well-intentioned “detective” work out there, but very little done with proper scientific methods.
Consumers need and deserve all the facts to make informed choices about the products they want to use. In a sense, this is an extension of the “personalization” and “lifestyle” trends, where manufacturers can customize products not only to meet aesthetic needs but also to meet ethical frameworks and adapt them to people’s lifestyles . Without a comprehensive understanding of ingredients, consumers eager to increase their knowledge will not be able to make informed choices if given the opportunity. The personal care industry has a responsibility to help change this.
