Nerith.Silicone-Sports & Fashion

Performance leads to enjoyment - thanks to silicones.

Revolutionising fabrics

Silicones have revolutionised fabrics of all kinds. As finishes, they put the 'bounce' into wools and make clothes silky soft yet durable and resistant to abrasion. As friction coatings they help reduce slip for stocking tops and socks. They make leather shoes and raincoats waterproof and longer lasting. In dyes they are used for achieving uniformity and brilliance of colour. And they are used to make protective clothing.

Fabrics coated with silicones are used to make sails, parachutes, paragliders and hot air balloons.

Caring for fabrics

Silicones in fabric softeners condition, helping to preserve fabric "newness". Silicones' elasticity make fabrics wrinkle-free and easier to iron.

Adding comfort and performance to sports

New techniques have made it possible to design sportswear that is lightweight, comfortable and fashionable. As water repellentssilicones help keep sportswear dry. As gels they act as shock absorbers in runners' shoes. In swimming goggles and diving masks they prevent water from seeping through. Used on snowboards and skis, they make for easy gliding. Used as bait, they help catch fish!

Anglers love silicones

In fly fishing,silicones are used as a body coating for flies. It gives them a more natural feeling.

Nerith.Silicone-Sealants & Adhesives

Silicone sealants are probably one of the most well-known applications.

Silicone sealants and adhesives are powerful and flexible products which can be used in a wide range of applications. They can bond together the most diverse of materials, such as concrete, glass, stone, and many plastics and metals. With their many and varied uses, silicones can really enhance the performance of other materials.

In the industry

Adhesives and sealants are often called upon in industrial manufacturing. Wherever added performance is required, siliconesprovide benefits such as improved strength, flexibility and resistance. They resist chemicals, heat, sun, salt, pollution and wind better than other products on the market.

In some applications, silicone-enhanced sealants are used to seal in liquids or gasses - from chemical tanks to farm silos.

They are also ideal for affixing joints. After being glued together with silicone adhesives, the joints absorb the natural movement that materials suffer due to changes in temperature and humidity.

At home

Waterproof and flexible substance, silicones are normally used for sealing areas around baths, sinks or other plumbing materials. They can act as a very effective mosaic adhesive, especially when surfaces are not porous, e.g. glass to glass.

In kitchens and bathrooms, silicone sealants also prevent bacteria build-up.

Their use as an air and watertight seal can not only create the highest level of efficiency and protection against the elements, but also make the home more energy-efficient and sustainable.

At the office

One of the most surprising characteristics of silicones is that depending on the formulation, they can glue together parts of a ship.

Other silicone applications daily used in offices around the world are sticky tape, self-adhesive envelopes and labels.

At the medical center

The same easy-release characteristics which are found in the office are also useful for medical applications. Medical tapes, self-adhesive patches, depilatory papers are all produced using silicone adhesives.

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Silicones protect our cultural heritage from decay.

There is widespread belief that stone decay is a recent problem linked to increasing pollution. But nothing is farther from the truth. The first attempts at preserving architectural and artistic heritage were made in the Middle Ages.

And we have come a long way since. In our modern world,silicone coatings effectively protect thousands of restored buildings and historic monuments from the ravages of erosion. They restore the material to its original strength by penetrating the stone through to the undamaged core and reinforcing the natural mineral. This process does not compromise the physical characteristics of the stone nor its structure. Silicone applications are also applied uniformly so they do not streak or stain.

Silicone coatings preserve monuments as diverse as the formidable statues on Easter Island, the delicate Gothic carvings of the City Hall in Bruges, the cornices of Munich's Alte Pinakothek, and the ancient palaces on the Capitol Hill in Rome and Tower Bridge in London. They are also used to make moulds of delicate ancient bas-reliefs and statues.

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Creating 21st Century Beauty

Silicones' unique properties play an important role in Personal Care today, offering superior aesthetic and technical characteristics to formulations, delivering high-performance sensory benefits like softness, luxurious texture and longer-lasting, protecting effects. Silicone-based personal care products make excellent moisturisers, keeping actives present for longer and returning softness and vitality to the surface of skin.

Protecting Hair

Silicones' decades-long use in hair care is responsible for the widespread availability of products which improve conditioning, heat protection and hair strengthening. Silicones are especially effective in shampoos, notably 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioning products, in hair serums for repairing split ends and in colorants applied to give colour protection.

Silicone-based hair care products yield rich volume, offer frizz control and deliver lasting shape and softness. We have silicones to thank for that natural sheen we have come to expect from shampoo and conditioning products today. Improved wet and dry combing, longer-lasting soft feel and increased shine, as well as heat and colour protection for treated or damaged hair, have made silicones the industry standard in haircare formulations.

Silicones are also relied on in ethnic haircare products for their calming smoothness.

Skin Care For All

The spreadability and smoothness of make-up and other skincare products provide an important support to revitalise skin following exposure to the elements and environmental toxins. Whether the skin is too dry and flaky or too greasy, silicones improve moisturisation and radiance, leaving the skin feeling soft and refreshed.Providing innovative textures for every occasion, from anti-ageing face creams to sun creams, silicones in skincare lay down a breathable protective film on the skin which optimises moisture retention and enhances the delivery of actives.

These combined functional and sensory benefits are supported by improved spreadability in silicone-based shower and bath formulations.

The tender care and protection provided by aftershaves, cold creams and cleansing lotions buffered with silicones regenerate the skin and leave a smooth, soft enduring feeling.

Make-up You Can Rely On

Silicones have opened up exciting new vistas for make-up applications, particularly in foundations where elastomers are used to give products a dry powdery feel and in long-lasting make-up where water resistance keeps the formula in place for longer.

The smooth glossy finishes silicones bring to lipsticks and mascaras let colour spread evenly as silicones are excellent carriers and binders of pigments and fillers.

Even just minimal usage of silicone-based make-up can produce excellent results without appearing to be the result of excessive application.

The many versatile properties of silicones-based cosmetics range from even, easy spreading, a smooth, silky, powdery feel, a natural glow, wrinkle-masking, reduced skin shine or enhanced gloss on lips, long-lasting effects, improved sebum absorption and greater colour radiance.

Staying Dry and Fresh Throughout the Day

The use of silicones in antiperspirants and deodorants deliver comfort and affordability to meet the expectations of our active lifestyles.

Volatile silicones are used as carriers in antiperspirants due to their volatility and non-cooling properties, which lend a lasting dry feel to the body.

Silicones in antiperspirants and deodorants ensure a cost-effective platform for exciting new formulations of body odour products which are notable for their fast-drying action, reduced white residue and tackiness, softer and drier feel which minimises irritation of the skin, a moisturising effect, rapid absorption and improved salt suspension to reduce shine.

Men's Care

Men's facial skin, besides undergoing the same environmental stresses as women and children's, is additionally stressed by regular shaving and therefore needs the tender care and protection silicones bring to smooth and soft-feeling aftershaves and cleansing lotions.

Personal care products with that silky powdery feel, revitalising freshness and wrinkle-masking properties are equally sought after in male personal care, the largest-growing market in skincare today.

Silicones in male grooming products can provide effective, convenient non-irritating and anti-aging solutions tailored to men's specific skincare needs, offering a clear, natural, healthy look and leaving the skin feeling refreshed.

Sunshine with Silicones

Consumers today are acutely aware of the need to protect their skin from the sun, not just at the beach but also in daily urban life.

With levels of UV radiation at all-time highs, sun creams are an important skin companion for everyone under the sun. Water-resistant silicones are used in sun creams and protective sprays, lip balms, cooling after-sun body lotions and after-sun hair spray, as well as in self-tanning applications.

Two key benefits silicones bring to suncare products are SPF enhancement and water resistance. They also reduce greasiness and improve sweat resistance, minimise sand pick-up and enhance spreadability, ensuring the skin is evenly protected.

Fun in the sun is much safer thanks to silicones.

Safety

The latest research confirms the silicone industry's firm belief that silicones, including the volatile siloxanes cyclotetrasiloxane and cyclopenta siloxane, are safe for both human application and for the environment and may be used with confidence in their intended applications. Although not classically biodegradable,siliconescan degrade in the environment, leaving behind the naturally-occurring compounds of silicon dioxide (sand), carbon dioxide and water.

Nerith.Silicone-Paper

Make it stick with silicones

Silicones are used to make paper and film adhesive. They are commonly used for coating the backing paper of sticky labels, allowing the label to be peeled away easily.

Whether as simple price tickets or stickers, self-adhesive labels have become part of our daily lives

• Stickers in the automotive industry
• Reflective films for road signs
• Surgical plasters
• Aircraft stickers
• Security stickers, e.g. motorway passes
• Pressure sensitive adhesive tapes
• Hook and loop fastenings
• Self-adhesive labels for universal applications

One of the most well-known applications are Post-It notes.  Most people love them. But Post-It notes were not a planned product.