Is Your Skincare and Make up Causing You to Age Faster? A Look at Silicone in Face Products

One of the things that I like to do when I am in a store is to browse through the skincare and make-up aisles and read the ingredients on various products. I do this, not just to learn what is in them, but also to keep myself from being tempted by the enticing packaging and marketing claims the companies use to sell their products. And it's usually after I see the first few ingredients that any temptation I may have had to purchase the item, flees.

One of the many unhealthy ingredients I noticed that most popular brands use is dimethicone. Dimethicone, or Polydimethylsiloxane (aka PDMS) is a silicone based polymer, that when used in skincare and make up products, fills in fine lines and gives the skin the appearance of a smooth, even texture, like a make-up primer. So, when you see commercials or advertisements of a product that claims to "reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles", it is the silicone that is giving that illusion. In truth, however, this ingredient, the longer it's used actually interferes with the skin's natural hydrating process, thus increasing skin dryness and causing those fine lines and wrinkles you are trying to erase to be more noticeable.

Dimethicone

Here's another nasty tidbit about dimethicone (and other silicone ingredients), although it is supposed to help keep moisture trapped in the skin so it stays hydrated (which we established has the opposite effect), it also keeps dirt, oil, bacteria and toxins trapped in the skin as well. So, if you find yourself breaking out after using a product, check to see if it contains a silicone ingredient.

Here are some other common silicone ingredient names to watch out for besides dimethicone:

1. Methicone
2. Phenyl trimethicone
3. Cyclomethicone
4. Dimethiconol
5. Dimethicone copolyol

The sad fact is that there are so many ingredients added in our skincare and make-up products that when used long term, can cause our skin to look older faster. No matter how "safe" a company claims it's products to be, the undeniable truth is that anything that our bodies do not recognize as "food" or "nourishment", it treats it as a it would a virus or infection. Which means, it creates an inflammatory response in the body, which we know can lead to acne and of course, wrinkles.

As much as I love the look that silicone ingredients give to my skin, I don't love the break outs and redness I experience afterwards. I would much rather use natural plant oils to nourish and hydrate my skin, which I know is healing it in the long run. 

What are your thoughts on silicone in skincare and make-up products? I'd love to hear your opinions! :-)

Peace and Love,

~Sabrina