Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is used as a texture modifier and film-forming powder-gel network, giving formulas a silky feel, slip, oil absorption, and soft-focus blurring.
What does Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is used as a texture modifier and film-forming powder-gel network, giving formulas a silky feel, slip, oil absorption, and soft-focus blurring.
Is Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it often faces restricted-list friction because it is a highly synthetic, non-biodegradable polymer rather than because of common skin reactivity. It is generally low-irritation on skin, but many stricter standards limit this material class.
Is Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer sustainable?
This material is made from mineral-derived silicon chemistry combined with fossil-derived carbon inputs, and it is not readily biodegradable. Its main sustainability concern is environmental persistence rather than renewable sourcing.
Is Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS natural or organic standards. Its poor biodegradability and synthetic polymer profile give it weak alignment with Green Chemistry preferences for renewable feedstocks, degradability, and simpler end-of-life behavior.
How does Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer work chemically?
The molecule is a three-dimensional, methyl-substituted Si-O polymer network that swells in compatible oil-phase carriers and creates an elastic gel-powder sensory effect. It is typically used around 1 to 10% active in primers, complexion products, sunscreens, and creams, and it is broadly pH-stable because it is largely inert in finished formulas.
Last updated 2026-05-13