Silicone-free sunscreens

What this label means and how we count it

Silicones are recognizable in an ingredient list by their endings: -methicone, -siloxane and -methiconol, plus Dimethicone and the silsesquioxane compounds. They are absent from this list. Let us say this plainly: a silicone is not a warning here. The research does not support the claim that silicones clog pores, and the people who avoid them mostly do so for other reasons — feel, build-up, or wanting to wash them off with an oil cleanser. That is a matter of preference, and it is a good reason for a filter. The flag comes from a name in the list, not from a concentration, which does not have to be declared. Silicones are more common in hair products than in skincare, but this facet covers skincare only for now. Only products whose ingredient list we have read are included; a product whose list we do not hold is not marked silicone-free.