Many face creams for men rely on harmful silicones - in fact, there are even a few short-sighted points that speak for them. But: The reasons against the synthetic substance are tough! We take a closer look at the ingredient and explain why it has something to do with tiles, but nothing on your face.
Petroleum in cosmetics - silicone in creams and on the face: 3 facts
Fact 1 on the subject of silicone: These are synthetic polymers that are obtained from petroleum and can be called Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Polysiloxane or Pheynil Trimethicone. From the names it can already be deduced that the atoms of the silicone can appear in different arrangements: short-chain, long-chain, ring-shaped.
This leads to fact 2: Because silicone is so changeable, the fabric is ideal for various purposes. We use it to seal joints in the bathroom, use it as a non-stick cake mold (at least the bakers among us) or use it in plastic surgery. Well, silicone is also used in cosmetics because:
Fact 3: Silicone seals wrinkles! Let's stay with the joints in the bathroom: they can be sealed with silicone so that they are perfectly smooth. You have exactly the same effect when you apply it to your face. The silicone film has a smoothing effect and leaves a smooth feeling. Also in shampoos, many producers rely on silicone because it envelops the hair, fills up broken spots and makes it shine due to its reflective properties.
The legitimate question now is: Is this synthetic material that we use on the bathroom tiles also a suitable care substance for something sensitive like our face?
Fact: silicone is the opposite of a wrinkle killer ...
Imagine sealing your face with a flexible, synthetic product like silicone: it fills up any bumps and makes them invisible. On the one hand, this certainly includes your wrinkles; on the other hand also the pores and sweat glands of your skin. How is your skin supposed to function, let alone breathe?
Silicone will make your skin brittle because it will no longer be able to regenerate naturally. You only have to add up one and one to come to the following conclusion: Silicone damages your skin in the long term and can provoke wrinkles rather than fight them.
And we have to say this clearly: Just because someone smears a washable seal on wrinkles, the wrinkles are far from gone! They were just hidden.
So why does the cosmetics industry use silicones? It is cheap to manufacture, promises short-term success and these sham successes can be sold well. It makes no difference to some manufacturers that dermatologists advise against using silicone-containing face creams.
And that was not all.
Silicone is a skin and environmental killer
Do you remember our amounts on microplastics and plastics in cosmetics ? You don't need a spoiler alert, you already guessed it: silicone harms nature.
Not only does the production cause a lot of carbon dioxide. Cyclic siloxanes enter the water cycle daily via the sink and shower; Sewage treatment plants are not completely filtered. Silicones get into the groundwater, into the drinking water and finally into our food. For this reason, when it comes to the Federal Environment Agency, silicones do not belong in cosmetic products . Utopia has also published a detailed article on silicone and the environment .
The problem is: The cosmetics industry doesn't like to see this. That's why it's up to you now to be more sensible.
Stay away from silicones in creams and cosmetics
As always, nothing is better than a look at the ingredients in your cosmetic products. Unfortunately you will notice: Silicon is more common than you thought.
Fortunately, the rules are straightforward. If an ingredient ends in "-cone" or "-xane": stay away!
And while we're at it, besides silicone, you shouldn't touch parabens, bad alcohols and mineral oils, or BHA and BHT . These substances too often occur in care products. Just stupid that they don't care for you, but harm you.
Good care products for men get by without silicone
If we manufacture cosmetic products for men from sober, then we have a responsibility for you and your skin. That's why: Our creams and cleaners unconditionally do without any questionable ingredients or substances whose fate on the skin is unclear.
We do n't touch silicones 100 percent. And we don't have to. Because good facial care like our anti-aging cream without parabens and silicones ( Hydra Defense Cream ) is formulated in such a way that it contains valuable oils, vitamins, nutrients and moisturizers. How to fight wrinkles. After all, your skin is not a tile mirror.
Take care of yourself and your skin! #staysober
Philipp