Resist what Persists: Silicone

Ah, the many names of silicone:

Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Amino Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclotetrasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Amodimethicone, Cetrimonium Dimethicone, Behenoxy Dimethicone, Stearoxy Dimethicone,Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polysilicone‑11, PEG‑x Dimethicone, PEG/PPG‑x/y Dimethicone, Lauryl PEG‑x Dimethicone, Dimethicone PEG‑x Phosphate, Bis‑PEG/PPG‑xx/yy Dimethicone, Polysilicone‑29

Silicones are as slippery as its texture and can be hard to spot at a glance in an ingredient list. Anything ending in ‑cone, ‑conol, ‑siloxane, ‑silanol, or ‑silsesquioxane is almost always a silicone or silicone‑derived polymer and sometimes the silicone is embedded inside a larger INCI name. 

Look for:

• Words ending in ‑siloxane (e.g., Phenyl Trimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane)
• Words ending in ‑methicone (Dimethicone, Amodimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, etc.)
• Words ending in ‑silsesquioxane (e.g., Polypropylsilsesquioxane)
• Words with silyl in the middle (e.g., Trimethylsilylamodimethicone)

That short-term, slippery, fast absorbing, feel we’ve come to know and love has a long-term price. While not technically a plastic, functionally silicone acts in very similar ways and accumulates and persists in our environment, in our bodies and the bodies of creatures we share the planet with. On the skin and hair, silicones cause build-up and congestion. 

Synthetics often give us style without substance. Think 70’s polyester clothes, great to look at, a sweaty nightmare to consider wearing on a hot day or hot date.

We are about substance, sustenance and sustainability. 

So we can take a moment to reflect on our expectations, the fast lane to a reality check.

What makes us believe a moisturizer should vanish instantly… or, that a conditioner should be impossibly slippery, or that a balm should melt into something almost weightless? 

Plants don't feel like that. 

An herb-infused oil has its own character. A beeswax salve offers a little resistance before it softens with the warmth of your skin. Plant butters take their time. Roots, flowers, seeds, and resins have the long view in mind. They are complex, not one dimensional.

We don't formulate with dimethicone or synthetic texture-building polymers because we're not trying to make botanicals behave like conventional skincare.

We're interested in what plants actually do.

That means our products may feel richer. They may linger a little longer. They may ask you to slow down for a moment instead of disappearing before you've noticed them.

We don't see those qualities as flaws to formulate away. We see them as reminders that you're working with ingredients that began as living things.