Despite the fact that more and more people are searching for natural products, efficacy is still the most important purchasing driver for the majority of consumers. This means that a great deal of focus must remain on factors such as performance and safety while also accommodating natural, responsible and more recently, clean beauty preferences.

While natural ingredients have been a key force in the market for many years now, consumers are still often confused by what ‘natural’ ingredients are able to achieve, their benefits and their limitations. This is compounded by misunderstanding the qualities of many non-botanical ingredients, including silicones. 

Personal Carespoke with Hailey HaEun Sung, formulation & technical chemist at Grant Industries, to discover more about silicones and their place in key trends such as eco-responsibility and ‘clean beauty’. Grant Industries continue to seek to educate on this subject, and presented at this year’s World of Chemistry, hosted by Personal Careat Suppliers’ Day in New York. 

Personal Care:Natural products get a lot of the marketing spotlight, but how do silicones fit into the marketplace currently? Are they delivering what consumers want?

Hailey HaEun Sung: 95% of consumers surveyed cite product efficacy as the most important factor when they choose products. As a result, the cosmetic market is evolving to support priorities like safety, performance and responsibility. Now imagine there is an inert, non-reactive ingredient to aid in the aesthetics of formulas by providing incredible sensorial aspects without irritating the skin. Also imagine that this ingredient is safe and compliant with the new Clean at Sephora beauty standards. Such a thing exists. We’re talking, of course, about silicones.