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Silica

Silica

Well toleratedOtherabsorbentabrasiveanticakingviscosity controlling

No meaningful concern for most people; irritation is possible but rare.

Also written as: Silicon Dioxide · Amorphous Silica · Silica Microspheres

What it is

Silica in cosmetics is amorphous silicon dioxide, usually made synthetically by precipitation or by a flame (pyrogenic) process, though some grades are purified from natural sources. Spherical grades give a soft-focus, blurring feel; porous grades soak up oil. It is inert, insoluble and does not react with other ingredients.

How it shows up on a label

Often the ingredient responsible for a mask feeling silky rather than gritty.

What it does well

  • Absorbs oil and improves how a product feels on skin

    Porous silica takes up sebum, and spherical silica reduces drag and adds slip. Both are well-established, purely physical formulation effects.

    Strong evidence

Worth knowing

  • Cosmetic silica is not the crystalline silica linked to lung disease

    The silicosis and lung cancer risks associated with silica dust relate to respirable crystalline silica inhaled occupationally, typically in quarrying, stone cutting and sandblasting. Cosmetic silica is amorphous, a structurally different material, and is applied to skin rather than inhaled.

    Matters most toNobody using finished cosmetics; the hazard is occupational and applies to a different form of silica.

  • Nano grades have not been fully assessed

    The SCCS reviewed nano-form silica and silica surface-modified with alkyl silylates in 2015 and was unable to reach a conclusion because of data gaps, particularly on dermal absorption. That is an absence of evidence rather than evidence of harm; nano forms must in any case be declared as '(nano)' on EU labels.

    Matters most toAnyone specifically avoiding nanomaterials.

Where the EU stands

No specific restriction

Not restricted under the EU Cosmetics Regulation; no concentration limit. Silica is named in the annexes only as a permitted coating material for the nano titanium dioxide UV filter at Annex VI entry 27a, which is a condition on that filter rather than a limit on silica. Nano forms must carry '(nano)' in the ingredient list under Article 19(1)(g) and be notified to the Commission under Article 16.

Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 - no annex entry for silica; named in Annex VI entry 27a only as a permitted coating for nano titanium dioxide · source ↗

Sources (1)

Every link goes to the original: a journal, a PubMed record or an EU document.

  1. [1]
    Opinion on Silica, Hydrated Silica, and Silica Surface Modified with Alkyl Silylates (nano form) (SCCS/1545/15)

    SCCS - Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, European Commission · 2015

    The committee could not conclude on the safety of the nano-form silica materials submitted because of data gaps, above all on dermal absorption, and asked for material-by-material data rather than read-across.

Masks that contain Silica