ABCs of Skincare/Makeup Ingredients: Dimethicone

Today's ingredient is dimethicone! Not an ingredient people commonly talk about, nor is it touted as "the next best thing" in skincare, but it is commonly found in most of your skincare, hair and makeup products.

So what is dimethicone? Dimethicone is a man-made silicone oil; it is commonly used as an anti-foaming agent, skin protectant and hair conditioner. Manufactures often use this ingredient because it allows for their product to spread easily. This ensures that the customer gets the feeling of cream or lotion being spread over their skin. Dimethicone also forms a protective barrier on your skin, and will fill in fine line and wrinkles, making it popular ingredient in makeup primers.

The FDA has approved the use of dimethicone as a skin protectant ingredient in over-the-counter products, and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel has assessed it as safe to use in personal care products. So according to the US government, dimethicone has been approved for safe usage in our daily skincare products. The FDA also has one of the highest standards of safety, and they rigorously test ingredients to ensure that you are not being harmed.

However, there are people who refuse or try not to use dimethicone in their skincare products. While dimethicone is safe to use, many claim that it will make your dry skin worse over time, instead of improving it. Additionally, the artificial coating that dimethicone provides is not ideal for your skin:

• Dimethicone traps anything that was already on your skin and essentially keeps it on your skin with its coating. This could lead to increased breakouts and blackheads.
• The coating prevents your skin from doing its usual thing: sweating, getting rid of dead skin cells, regulating skin temperature, etc
• Some people (with sensitive or reactive skin) may have an allergic reaction to dimethicone

From a manufacturing point of view, I can see why companies like to use dimethicone. It's FDA-approved, it fills in your fine lines and wrinkles, and gives consumers that feeling of product being spread over their face. However, there are some negative sides to using dimethicone, as listed above. If you see that you are getting more breakouts than usual, check your skincare/makeup products for dimethicone. Some products may have it listed as an active ingredient, while others list it as an inactive ingredient. Even if you don't see if on the box, check the company's website for the full and extensive list of ingredients. 

If you are not a fan of artificial silicon, check out products that tout natural oils instead, or look for products that explicitly say "dimethicone free". It may be a bit of a challenge, as this ingredient is in almost everything, but there are ways around this. Alternatively, you may be able to just avoid silicone ingredients in general and turn to water-based products. 

I hope you were all able to learn something new! 

Sources

• http://www.drfranklipman.com/the-truth-behind-the-common-cosmetics-ingredient-dimethicone/
• http://www.annmariegianni.com/ingredient-watch-list-dimethicone-the-smoothing-silicone-that-exacerbates-acne/