Volatile silicones in cosmetics are high-performing ingredients that have a soft, silky sensory feel on the skin and hair but with significant drawbacks to the environment. Historically, D5 cyclopentasiloxane has been used in cosmetics because of its odorless, colorless and nongreasy properties. This type of silicone doesn’t get absorbed into the skin, but evaporates away from it, making it ideal for cosmetic applications. Because of the environmental concern around D5, Europe has regulated the use of traditional D5 silicones.

In response, Lubrizol Life Science Beauty developed SilSense™ Bio 5 emollient – a sustainable silicone alternative to D5 cyclopentasiloxane that provides the same performance and sensory feel in leave-on applications, specifically for skin care, hair care, sun care and makeup formulations.

SilSense™ Bio 5 emollient is a biodegradable, highly pure, fast-spreading volatile emollient that provides a lightweight and nongreasy soft feel to the hair, scalp and skin. It is a sustainable bio-alkane chemistry, derived from a non-GMO, 100% vegetable oil. This emollient is COSMOS-approved and vegan-, halal- and kosher-compliant.

When used in hair care formulations, SilSense™ Bio 5 emollient brings softness and smoothness to the fiber in wet and dry applications. It provides better volume and frizz control and has been shown to improve the scalp’s condition by providing moisturization and improved barrier function. It also helps maintain the pH of the skin of the scalp.

In skin care, sun care and makeup applications, the addition of SilSense™ Bio 5 emollient gives formulations a light sensory, with a smooth and dry afterfeel as well as good pigment dispersion and fluidity over time. Using a SilSense™ Bio 5 emollient shows less transfer of makeup, resulting in an almost unperceivable loss of color on the skin and almost no transfer of makeup to fabric.

To learn more about SilSense™ Bio 5 emollient, visit our website.

Getting that soft, silky feel on the skin and hair, with a sustainable silicone alternative