Impurities affect the safety of silicone oil

Like many raw materials, many of the various series of silicone oil products are not completely 100% pure substances, and there are still some impurities in them. One of the noteworthy impurities is D4 (please add, D4 is the abbreviation of cyclotetramethicone, D5, D6 and so on). D4 is the monomer used to synthesize these silicone oils and forms various organosilicon compounds through ring-opening polymerization. However, in the production process of synthesizing various types of silicone oil, it is difficult to completely react D4 100%, so D4 will remain in some silicone oil products.

What effect does D4 have on the human body? As a type of cyclic silicone oil, it is highly volatile and easily inhaled by the human body. It has been reported that D4 may affect human reproduction, but there is currently no long-term research data to 100% support this conclusion. At present, the cosmetics industry has been taking action, and Europe is conducting further safety assessments on silicone oil and D4. Major cosmetics companies will require raw material suppliers to provide the residual amount of D4 in some silicone oil raw materials, and carry out standard control of D4 residue on raw materials. The D4 content in some silicone oil products may be as high as more than 1%. If it can be controlled below 0.1% or even less, the safety problems will be much less.

Not just D4, D5 also has some safety issues. Note that D5 is not a residue, it is a cosmetic ingredient used. Due to its strong volatility, D5 will evaporate quickly during the use phase of skin care products made from D5, which can create the illusion of easy absorption. This simple and crude "easy absorption" technology makes it widely used in skin care products. However, large multinational cosmetics companies are currently looking for alternative ingredients for D5 to reduce safety concerns. For specific content, you can refer to another article on Zhenmei Blog: Cosmetic ingredients that pregnant women should use with caution: Cyclopentamethicone alkyl.

Regarding D5, there has been a lot of noise and action abroad. Domestically, although major brand cosmetics companies also want to implement global practices, they do not seem so urgent. Therefore, D5 is common in many big brand products. After the domestic factories built by major silicone oil suppliers were put into production in recent years, the price of D5 has been reduced a lot. This is simply turning D5 into a high-quality and low-priced raw material, making it easier for formulators to control costs, okay? Although most cosmetic raw materials have increased in price, this D5 has been reduced in price.