Cyclotetrasiloxane ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a volatile silicone fluid used as a solvent, carrier, and slip agent. It helps formulas spread easily, then evaporates to leave a dry, smooth finish.
What does Cyclotetrasiloxane do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a volatile silicone fluid used as a solvent, carrier, and slip agent. It helps formulas spread easily, then evaporates to leave a dry, smooth finish.
Is Cyclotetrasiloxane clean?
From a clean beauty perspective, this ingredient has significant restricted-list friction because of regulatory scrutiny around persistence, bioaccumulation, and reproductive-effect classification in the EU. Many clean standards and retailers exclude or tightly limit it, especially in rinse-off products.
Is Cyclotetrasiloxane sustainable?
This material is made through synthetic silicone chemistry from mineral-derived silicon and methylating reagents, not renewable feedstocks. It is poorly biodegradable, environmentally persistent, and associated with bioaccumulation concerns in aquatic systems.
Is Cyclotetrasiloxane COSMOS-approved?
It is not aligned with COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards, which generally do not permit synthetic silicone fluids. From a Green Chemistry lens, its persistence, low biodegradability, and non-renewable feedstock profile make it a poor fit.
How does Cyclotetrasiloxane work chemically?
The molecule is a small, ring-shaped organosilicon fluid with high volatility, strong hydrophobicity, and very low water solubility. It is generally stable across typical cosmetic pH ranges, and in the EU and UK it is restricted to below 0.1% in wash-off cosmetic products.
Last updated 2026-05-13