In Unity Cosmetics products you'll find silicones only in the Primer (as the main ingredient), the Foundations and the Concealers.
Silicones: good or bad?
Silicones are synthetic substances. They are compounds in which silicon and oxygen alternate in a chain with various branches. The length of such a chain, the type of branching, and the presence of other molecules within a chain determine the properties of a silicone molecule. There are many different types of silicones, but they all share the same properties:- Silicones are stable; they barely react with other chemical substances and resist water, oxygen, light and microorganisms.
- Silicones are non-toxic and therefore of interest to the medical and cosmetics industries.
- Silicones are not sticky and are barely visible on the skin (in contrast to fat and oil).
Because of these properties, silicones are widely used in the cosmetics industry — in hair products (to make hair shiny and soft), but also in skincare products (for hydration and smoothing) and make-up products (to smooth). We'd like to focus in particular on this last category.
Silicones in make-up products
Make-up products containing silicones generally have a light texture that spreads easily on the skin without feeling sticky. This is precisely why silicones are often added to foundations, primers and lipsticks. The product applies smoothly to the skin, spreads beautifully, has a protective and hydrating effect and gives a silky-soft feel. In mascaras, silicones can make the mascara more water-resistant and contribute to optically lengthening the lashes.
Although there are more than 100 different types of silicones, the silicones typically used in make-up are dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane. Most cosmetic products contain relatively little silicone (1 to 5 per cent) because it's usually an additive. But there are products in which silicones make up the main ingredient — primers in particular often fall into this category. The silicones provide a silky-soft feel and give "grip" to other products applied over them.
Contrary to what's regularly claimed, it has been scientifically demonstrated that silicones do not penetrate the skin and do not form a sealing layer over the skin. Silicones do lie on the skin as a thin film, but it's comparable to the way a thin gauze sits over a wound. The silicones form a kind of "mesh" over the skin so that the skin can still "breathe" and excrete dirt, sweat and sebum. Silicones have a molecular structure that doesn't suffocate the skin or clog pores. The fact that some people experience complaints after using silicone-containing products is generally not caused by the silicones, but rather by other ingredients — or by insufficient cleansing of the skin at the end of the day.
To sum up — answering the question at the top of this article: silicones have very pleasant properties and there's nothing wrong with them.