Dow Corning 9701 Cosmetic Powder is also said to absorb sebum allowing consumers to achieve a smoother, more youthful-looking skin, the technical paper says.
The wrinkle-masking effects of the ingredient were evaluated through in vivo tests. This involved taking a print of the crow's foot areas for each of a number of subjects. Results showed a lifting effect on the subject's crow's feet and an immediate improvement in the skin appearance.
The company said it carried out tests using a 4 per cent elastomer powder formulation. Later tests showed that a 10 per cent formulation did not show any improvement to the results.
"Purchasing trends set by consumers indicate that claims of counteracting or masking signs of aging in a gentle and believable way will play an increasingly dominant role in this highly competitive market," the company says.
In turn, the company says that although silicones have been used in skin care ingredients for more than 50 years, silicone elastomers are amongst the newest performance-enhancing ingredients in this category.
This particular elastomer powder has been developed for a wide range of formulations, including skin care, sun care and color cosmetics products - basically any type of product that comes into contact with areas of the face where visible signs of aging appear.
The composition of the ingredient is claimed to absorb fluid and enables the powder to flow freely with agglomeration. In turn this provides superior ease to formulate and process it as part of a personal care formulation.
This is because the ingredient has easy dispersion in a variety of formulations, even in the presence of pigments, making it possible to include in a variety of formulations without having to employ sophisticated processing techniques or machinery.
As well as efficacy and ease of formulation, the ingredient is also said to provide novel sensory and texture effects, marked by a smooth formulation with lower tackiness and greasiness and a less glossy effect when applied to the skin.
Dow Cornings says that the findings of its technical paper on the ingredient conclude that it is a multifunctional ingredient that is easy to process and should create a host of opportunities to create a host of future high-performance personal care products.