Silicones have no equal in giving a “peach skin” feel and facilitating the spreading of the product. The problem? They are not very biodegradable and they are accused of clogging the pores. In fact, it depends on the molecule used:there are around fifty different silicones, which are more or less occlusive, depending on their percentage in the formula. As we do not have access to this information, it is impossible to get an idea by looking at the formula. The good news:enormous progress has been made in terms of formulation and the silicones used today have, for the most part, no negative effect on the epidermis.
As for parabens, they are the best known preservatives and provide a great compromise between quality and efficiency. They are accused of being allergenic and even endocrine disruptors. Again, there are several kinds and it is the long chain parabens (those with prefixes like ethyl or propyl) that are decried (those starting with methyl are short chain). A paraben-free formula uses other preservatives, on which we sometimes lack hindsight and which risk being banned:this is the case of methylisothiazolinone, which has proven to be allergenic...
Thanks to Lionel de Benetti, cosmetologist and Kiehl’s consultant, and to Cyrille Telinge, founder of Novexpert.
