Adjusting Water-in-Silicone Sunscreen for Smoother, Velvety Texture

Question

I have a water-in-silicone sunscreen formula and want to make the texture smoother and more velvety. How should I adjust it?

My current formula is:

PART A

Silicone Gel (Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer): 10%
สี Beige (Beige Iron Oxides Easymix): 0.5%
TiO2 easy disperse (Titanium Dioxide Nano): 5%
Zinc easy disperse (Zinc Oxide Nano): 5%
Cyclomethicone (Cyclopentasiloxane): 12%
SiliSolve Plus: 2%
LipidSoft CC (Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate/Octanoate): 2%

PART B

Preserve: 1%
NaCl: 0.8%
Aqua: qs 100%

The procedure is to mix PART A together, then slowly pour PART B into PART A. Everything else is okay, including water resistance and consistency. However, when applied, I want it to be smoother and feel like velvet. How should I adjust it?

MySkinRecipes Expert · Accepted Answer

To make your water-in-silicone sunscreen feel smoother and more velvety, the stickiness might be due to the amount of the gelling silicone (Silicone Gel - Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer) relative to the volatile silicone (Cyclomethicone - Cyclopentasiloxane).

To achieve a smoother, more powdery, and velvety finish, you can try adjusting the ratio of these two ingredients. I recommend reducing the Silicone Gel and increasing the Cyclomethicone.

Suggested adjustment:

Reduce Silicone Gel (Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer) from 10% to 5%.
Increase Cyclomethicone (Cyclopentasiloxane) from 12% to 17%.

Keep all other ingredients and percentages the same.

This adjustment replaces some of the thickening, potentially sticky silicone gel with a volatile silicone that provides a dry, smooth, and velvety feel, improving spreadability and reducing tackiness.

Please test this modified formula to see if it achieves the desired texture.