Hydrated Silica

Hydrated silica plays a variety of roles in skin care products, mainly centered around adjusting the aesthetics of formula. For instance, it can be used to control the viscosity and level of opacity.

In certain formulations, it can be used as an abrasive scrub particle. Other times it functions as a mattifying agent or as a skin-conditioning agent. Hydrated silica may also be used to coat mineral sunscreen actives, lending an overall more elegant texture and appearance to the formula. It’s often used with titanium dioxide for additional opacity and/or thickening of emulsions.

Technically speaking, hydrated silica is a form of silica that has additional water atoms. While its root origin is from naturally occurring minerals, it is produced synthetically for cosmetic use. It is described as a white fluffy powder in its raw material form.

In the Cosmetic Ingredient Review assessment conducted in 2019, hydrated silica was deemed safe up to 10% concentration in leave-on skin care products and 33.8% in rinse-off products.