Sodium metasilicate

Sodium metasilicate

Learn all about sodium metasilicate, including how it's made, and why Puracy uses sodium metasilicate in our products.

The 30 Days of Cleaning with Puracy

Alcohol alkoxylate Reading Sodium metasilicate 2 minutes Next Sodium chloride
  • Derived from: Baking Soda
  • Pronunciation: \ˈsō-dē-əm \ metaˈsi-lə-ˌkāt\
  • Type: Naturally-derived

What Is Sodium metasilicate?

Sodium metasilicate is an inorganic salt that typically appears as a white powdered or flaked solid.[1,2]

What Does Sodium metasilicate Do in Our products?

Sodium metasilicate is a versatile ingredient that can be used as an adhesive, corrosion inhibitor, and sealant, among other things. It is often used in hair color and as a corrosion inhibitor in cosmetics; it also is used in shaving, bath, and oral hygiene products.[3,4,5] We use it as a detergent booster.[6] It is almost insoluble in cold water.[7]

Why Puracy Uses Sodium metasilicate

Sodium metasilicate helps remove organic matter during washing.[12] Whole Foods has deemed the ingredient acceptable in its body care and cleaning product quality standards.[13,14,15] The FDA has deemed sodium metasilicate as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in food.[16] Studies show that the ingredient is a skin irritant but safe for use when formulated to avoid irritation.[17,18]

How Sodium metasilicate Is Made

Commercially, manufacturing sodium metasilicate starts with fusing silica sand with sodium carbonate, also known as soda ash.[8,9,10]

Certifications

Sources

[1] Environmental Working Group
[2] U.S. National Library of Medicine
[3] Environmental Working Group
[4] U.S. National Library of Medicine
[5] Cosmeticsinfo.org
[6] U.S. National Library of Medicine
[7] U.S. National Library of Medicine
[9] U.S. National Library of Medicine
[10] Cosmeticsinfo.org
[11] Personal Care Council
[12] U.S. National Library of Medicine
[13] Whole Foods Market
[15] Whole Foods Market
[16] Food and Drug Administration
[17] U.S. National Library of Medicine
[18] Personal Care Council