What do Deodorant, Laundry Detergent and Bloating Have in Common?

Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5)!!!!!

D5 is a non-irritating solvent used in personal care products that has the useful property of being slippery but non-greasy.¹ Only one percent of D5 applied to skin gets absorbed due to its lipophilic properties while the rest evaporates.² Don’t worry too much about air quality; hydroxyl radicals break down D5 in the atmosphere so it doesn’t deposit onto the ground.² No one knows what happens to D5 in water but since only a small amount ends up in waste water no one cares.² D5 does not occur naturally so if you want to you can avoid D5 by using products with diethyhexyl carbonate instead.^2;3

Figure 1. Suds.⁴

In laundry detergent D5 is used as a defoamer, it reduces bubbles.⁵ You’ve all heard of laundry detergents for high efficiency washers that have smart suds. The suds break down faster leading to a faster wash. D5 is what breaks down the suds.⁵ The surface tension of the soap bubble is decreased which pops the bubble, leading to a less foamy soap.⁶ The suds aren’t very smart it’s the chemists working at the soap factory.

If you are bloated due to gas D5 is to the rescue. D5 is used as an active ingredient in antiflatulent drugs.⁶ Gas bubbles have the same fate as soap bubbles resulting in the breakup of gas and a decrease in bloating.⁶

If you are thinking that D5 is toxic because it is man-made don’t; a 75kg person would have to ingest almost 2kg to be harmed.⁷ That is a lot of deodorant sticks.

References

¹Dow Corning. GPS Safety Report: Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5). http://www.dowcorning.co.kr/ko_KR/content/about/aboutehs/EHSPortalFiles/GPS_Safety_Report_541-02-6_D5.pdf (accessed Nov 2, 2015).

²Government of Canada. Proposed risk management approach for Cyclopentasiloxane, decamethyl- (D5), 2009. Environment Canada. https://www.ec.gc.ca/ese-ees/default.asp?lang=En&n=87912FFF-1 (accessed Nov 2, 2015).

³Lassen, C.; Hansen, C. L.; Mikkelsen, S. H.; Maag, J.  Siloxanes - Consumption, Toxicity and Alternatives. http://www.miljoestyrelsen.dk/udgiv/publications/2005/87-7614-756-8/pdf/87-7614-757-6.pdf (accessed Nov 2, 2015).

⁴Source: Skaken, N. Suds. Digital image.

⁵U.S. National Library of Medicine. HSDB: Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, 2006. TOXNET. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search2/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+541-02-6 (accessed Nov 2, 2015).

⁶Toedt, J.; Koza, D.; Van Cleef-Toedt, K. Chemical Composition of Everyday Products [ONLINE]; Greenwood Press: Westport, CT, 2005; pp. 77-78. http://docslide.us/documents/chemical-composition-of-everyday-products-558454e3c2144.html (accessed Nov 2, 2015).

⁷ U.S. National Library of Medicine. Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, N.D. ChemIDplus. http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/rn/541-02-6 (accessed Nov 2, 2015).