What are the hazards of silicone oil in shampoo

Shampoo is a must-have hair product for us, but recently there has been news that shampoo contains silicone oil, and long-term use of shampoo containing silicone oil is bad for the body. Silicone oil is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic and non-volatile liquid. After silicone oil is added to shampoo, your hair will feel very smooth when washing it. Now let’s learn about the dangers of shampoo containing silicone oil.

Hazard 1

More than 90% of the shampoos sold on the market now contain silicone oil, a chemical substance. It will make your hair feel very soft and a bit unclean during the washing process. It is insoluble in water and easily forms a film that wraps our pores. Long-term use will cause the pores to be clogged, and the hair ends cannot absorb nutrients from the hair roots, which will lead to frizziness, hair loss, breakage and other phenomena.

Hazard 2

Silicone oil is also known as "polydimethylsiloxane". Once silicone oil comes into contact with the hair, it will fill the gaps between the hair scales, creating a smooth touch, and the hair quality seems to become better after washing. However, the next time you use it, due to the property of silicone being insoluble in water, the silicone that has originally coated the hair cannot be completely washed off. Instead, it will continue to cover the outer layer of the hair layer by layer with each use. This causes the hair to become thick and gradually lose its elasticity, the pores to be blocked and unable to breathe, followed by severe damage to the hair such as breakage and split ends, and even severe hair loss.

Why add silicone oil

1. Hair grows from hair follicles in the scalp and its main component is keratin. If you zoom in on the hair, you can see the uneven cuticles (hair scales) on it, like fish scales. The main function of shampoo is to clean the dirt on the scalp and the attachments on the surface of the hair.

2. However, water and anionic surfactants used for cleaning will cause a series of changes in the hair: the hair absorbs water and swells, becomes moist and soft, and the oil that usually adheres to the cuticle to lubricate and protect it is washed away. If there are damaged and raised hair scales, the friction between the hair will increase, causing the hair to become tangled when combing, and the mutual friction will aggravate the damage to the hair scales. That’s not all. After removing the oil, the anionic surfactants simply adsorb on the hair, thus creating a connection between the hair and the outside world.