Development of New Spherical Silica as a Substitute for Microplastic Beads

Abstract

Microplastic(MP) beads are widely used as texturing agents in sunscreens and makeup cosmetics. However, in recent years, ocean pollution due to environmental outflow of microplastics waste has been attracting worldwide attention, and alternative materials to MP beads are being sought. Therefore, we have focused on silica as an environmentally friendly material and synthesized spherical silica with excellent texture to solve this global problem. We have succeeded in developing surface-treated spherical silica that has the same “softness” as MP beads by applying composite multilayer treatment to silica particles with excellent texture.