Thanks to trials with primers that were basically all silicone, I managed to nail down the fact that cosmetics or skincare products that have too much of the stuff tend to break me out. My theory is that while silicones absorb oil, at a certain point my crazy oily skin saturates them and then all hell breaks loose as they sit around, holding the oil trapped against my skin.
This blows, because silicone, either in the form of dimethicone, cyclomethicone or cyclopentahexane tend to be present in just about every single wonderfully textured, miraculously long-lasting and beautifully finished cosmetic. Unfortunately, the more poreless the finish, the bigger my acne.
Bear in mind that for the most part, this is an inert and non-comedogenic ingredient that most skins tolerate, even love. In fact, silicone is often recommended for sensitive, acne-prone oily skin (which, in my case makes me want to scream into a pillow with frustration). Also, that the warmer the climate, the less silicone I find my skin tolerates so if you’ve moved from a cold dry climate to a warm humid one and find that your skin’s going crazy, try slashing silicone from your beauty regime.
Since eliminating silicone from my foundation, however, I’ve found my skin to have cleared up marvellously to the point where it can also tolerate other products, like powders and moisturizers, that have the ingredient far down their lists. So the most important step may be to eliminate the worst offender to get away with it elsewhere.
From Googling around, I know that there are girls out there who, like me, have skin that react badly to the stuff. So I’ve decided to post this essay and maintain a list of silicone-free products on it to help everyone stuck in my situation. I will, of course, link reviews to the products when I’ve given them a try. A terrible number though are really hard to obtain in Asia. Drat!
For reference, my beauty routine (which could use some updating) is
here.
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