The magical effect of ultra-low viscosity dimethicone in cosmetics

Are you familiar with the application of medium viscosity dimethicone in creams, the application of high viscosity and ultra high viscosity dimethicone in hair care, and the application of low viscosity dimethicone in makeup and skin care formulations?

Generally, we will be different depending on the nature of the skin and the season we are in. Dry skin or autumn and winter seasons are more suitable for moisturizing products. Oily skin or hot summer is more suitable for refreshing texture.

Depending on the market demand, formulators also make different viscosity products. When developing refreshing skin care products, low viscosity dimethicone is the preferred choice for formulators.

In fact, as the degree of polymerization increases, the viscosity of dimethyl silicone oil also increases; when the degree of polymerization reaches a certain standard, polydimethylsiloxane exhibits an apparent viscosity of from 5 to 20 cSt, which is low. Viscosity Dimethicone, low viscosity dimethicone typically includes three viscosities of 5, 10, and 20 cSt.

Compared to conventional medium viscosity dimethicone (50, 100, 200, 350, 500, 1000 cSt), low viscosity dimethicone has a lower skin feel because of its lower viscosity. The refreshing and non-sticky skin care products and hair care products we use on a regular basis are made of low viscosity dimethicone.

In addition to the skin feel, low viscosity dimethicone is also more convenient in the formulation process due to the compatibility advantages of low viscosity. Experiments have confirmed that the low viscosity dimethyl silicone oil is perfectly compatible with the commonly used 26#, 15# white oil, thus avoiding the emulsification problem caused by the conventional medium viscosity dimethicone.

Excellent compatibility, light skin feel, excellent solubility for a variety of common oils, making low viscosity dimethicone oil can be applied to water-in-oil, oil-in-water, whole oil systems, which is said to be skin care and hair care. Universal grease is also worthy of the name!

At present, Dow Corning has a class of ultra-low viscosity dimethicone.

Ultra-low viscosity dimethicone generally refers to a dimethyl silicone oil having a viscosity of less than 5 cSt and having a super volatility; this ultra-low viscosity dimethicone can be formed by controlling the polymerization of a siloxane monomer. Among them, 0.65 cSt is currently the lowest viscosity, the fastest volatilization of polydimethylsiloxane, and its structure is hexamethyldisiloxane.

For substances with such a small molecular weight, the requirements for the production process must be very high. Dow Corning offers a wide range of ultra low viscosity dimethicones including PMX-200 0.65cSt, 1cSt, 1.5cSt, 2cSt, PMX-1184 and more.

Benefiting from ultra-low molecular weights, these ultra-low viscosity dimethicones are extremely volatile and evaporate faster than substances such as alcohol.

Therefore, this type of product can be used in some very special cosmetics, such as foaming mask. Foaming mask is a kind of product that quickly foams on the surface of the skin during use. It can generally claim that active oxygen moisturizes and clears pores. The foaming agent of the foaming mask is generally an ether material or 0.65 cSt dimethicone. However, ethers generally take 15-30 seconds to produce significant bubbles, which is not conducive to consumer experience. Using 0.65 cSt as a foaming agent, it is possible to cause rapid foaming in the mask 5S. The use of 0.65cSt in combination with ethers allows bubbles to be produced quickly and evenly.