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introduction of silicone elastomers as alternatives to traditional high oil and fatty alcohols in makeup formulations. This allowed formulators to deliver better aesthetics and benefits such as soft focus and line-filling without the oiliness attributed to traditional systems. In particular, silicone elastomers were key
materials in a new type of application, skin primer, which were seen as key to achieve flawless skin. So, silicone-based ingredients have been used in skincare products for 70 years and they still maintain a very high use level today. According to Mintel, 32 percent of the skincare and 42 percent of hair care products launched in 2022 contained a type of silicone-based ingredient, rising to around 60 percent for colour cosmetics and 56 percent for sun care.
The silicon(e) journey While to many people silicones may seem a rather mundane personal care ingredient, the journey from natural, raw extracted material to finished polymer in cosmetic products is quite complex. The key raw material in the production
of silicones is quartz, a common mineral composed of silicon and oxygen found in the Earth’s crust. After extraction, the quartz is mixed with
a carbon source and heated to very high temperatures in a furnace. The carbon reacts with the silicon dioxide within the quartz to produce carbon monoxide and silicon. At its Breu Branco silicon metal facility in Pará, Brazil, Dow uses charcoal and woodchips as the carbon source. Dow owns a total of 45,000 hectares of land in the are, 80% of which is preserved Amazon rainforest. That is approximately half of the size of New York City, or the equivalent of around 63,000 soccer fields. The remaining 20% is plantation of
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Dow Seneffe Innovation Studio (above); the editor examines Dow's facial skin-imaging and analysis system (below)
eucalyptus, which Dow cultivates and harvests to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) guidelines, to produce charcoal. Dow says the carbon footprint of its silicon metal was more than 50% lower than the industry average in 2010 and since then they have continued to invest in carbon reduction practices. This silicon metal is combined with methyl
chloride, which is made from recovered hydrochloric acid and methanol. The mixture is then heated to create silane. The next step in the production process is
hydrolysis distillation, which involves adding water to the silane mixture and distilling it to create a mix of siloxanes. The siloxanes are then polymerized, which
means they are chemically bonded together to create long chains of molecules. The resulting silicone polymers can then be
processed into different forms, such as liquids, gels, or solids, by adding other chemicals and using various methods such as extrusion, moulding or casting.
Seneffe – European home of Dow Silicones I recently visited Dow Silicones plant in Seneffe, around 25 miles due south of Brussels. The plant was jointly owned by Dow and American technology company Corning until 2016, when it was taken over completely by Dow. Seneffe is the largest of Dow’s five sites
in Belgium and it combines production, commercial functions, research & development and application engineering. The Seneffe plant employs approximately
450 people from 20 nations and produces different silicones for personal care and other industries. The facility is powered largely by
renewables; last year 90% of total electricity consumption at Seneffe was renewable. The site hosts two wind turbines generating around 30% of power needs. There are also solar panels, a geothermal heat pump and a power/heat cogeneration unit. Further demonstrating its low carbon
November 2023 PERSONAL CARE
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