The Safe Side of Looking Good

          In a world where so many of the cosmetics on our bodies might actually be slowly killing us, there is one cosmetic ingredient that does what it needs to without harming us or the environment.

This extremely safe chemical is trimethylsiloxysilicate.

How do we know it is safe?

We know it is safe because the Cosmetic Review Board tested the chemical first on animals then on humans and found it to be extremely safe and non-irritating.¹

First they tested it on the skin of New Zealand White Rabbits.

Figure 1. New Zealand White Rabbit.²

            They put 0.5 g of pure trimethylsiloxysilicate on the rabbit’s skin and covered it for four hours. The test resulted in weight gain and all the rabbits survived… until the autopsy that showed there were no signs of toxicity.¹

            In another test they shaved the rabbit’s skin and applied 2 g/kg of body weight on a patch of skin.¹ 24 hours later the patch was removed and cleaned with corn oil and then observed again.¹ The results mirrored the first test.¹

From there they did oral testing where they force feed Sprague-Dawley Rats 5g/kg.¹ This resulted in weight gain and survival with no signs of toxicology at autopsy.¹

            Since it is found in eye make-up it had to be tested on eyes, Rabbit eyes. An ocular test was done. During the test 0.1 ml of pure trimethylsiloxysilicate was administered to the right eye and examined at time 0,1,24, and 72 hours without any signs of irritation during that period.¹

            Finally 5% trimethylsiloxysilicate was tested on humans in the form of eyeshadow and eyeliner that was applied daily for twenty-eight days with no irritation.¹

All test on the product showed that it was extremely safe for everyday human use. 

It is put in cosmetics because it helps add volume, resist humidity, and can help fixate hair.³ The film that it forms increases water resistance in hair fixatives, sunscreens and pigments.³ It also makes cosmetics longer lasting, and smudge resistant.³ It acts as an antifoaming agent, skin conditioner, anti-caking agent, and a binder.¹

So if you see trimethylsiloxysilicate in your cosmetics you can be sure that is doing what it needs to while being completely harmless and controversy free.

References

¹Becker, L. C.; Bergfeld, W. F.; Belsito, D. V.; Hill, R. A.; Klaassen, C. D.; Liebler, D. C.; Marks, J. G.; Shank, R. C.; Slaga, T. J.; Snyder, P. W.; Andersen, F. A. Safety Assessment of Silylates and Surface-Modified Siloxysilicates. Int. J. Tox. [Online] 2013, 32, 5S-23S. Academic Search Complete, SAGE Journals (accessed Oct 31, 2015).

²Source: Bulla, G. New Zealand White Rabbit. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: NewZealandWhiteRabbit.jpg (Accessed Nov 4, 2015). Copyright 1990 by Bulla, G. Reprinted with permission.

³Goddard, P. E. D.; Gruber, P. J. V. Principles of Polymer Science and Technology in Cosmetics and Personal Care [Online]; CRC Press: New York, NY, 1999; p 309. http://library.mtroyal.ca:2052/lib/mtroyal/reader.action?docID=10051300 (accessed Oct 31, 2015).