Minerals and your skin

Minerals and your skin

Silicium is one of the most common elements on Earth, and the mineral at the heart of Quartz Crystal. It also plays a role in the body's connective tissue. Here is what research actually shows about silicium and skin, and where the evidence stops.

What is silicium?

Silicium (in English usually called silicon, symbol Si) is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust, after oxygen. In nature it almost always appears bound to oxygen as silica (silicon dioxide, SiO₂). Quartz Crystal is one of the purest natural forms of silica.

In water, silica can dissolve as orthosilicic acid. That is the form in which the body absorbs silicium from food and drinks, for example from whole grains, vegetables and mineral water.1

Silicium and the skin

Researchers have studied silicium mainly because of its link with connective tissue, the tissue that gives skin its firmness.

  • Silicium is associated with the formation of collagen and of glycosaminoglycans, molecules that help skin hold moisture. A dermatology review describes silicium as important for optimal collagen synthesis and notes that silicium levels in connective tissue decline with age.1
  • In laboratory studies on human cells, orthosilicic acid at concentrations similar to those in blood increased the production of collagen type 1.2
  • In a placebo-controlled study of 20 weeks in women with sun-damaged skin, a daily oral supplement of stabilised orthosilicic acid improved skin roughness and elasticity and made hair and nails less brittle.3

An important nuance: these human results come from a supplement taken by mouth, not from a cream or lotion. The same review concludes that there are still few well-designed studies on the different forms of silicium, and that more research with larger groups and longer follow-up is needed.1

What about silicium applied to the skin?

Here the evidence is thinner. Most research on silicium and skin looks at oral intake, and the review we cite does not cover silicium in creams at all.1 What is known is that silica-rich thermal spring waters have been associated with soothing effects, recovery of the skin barrier and better hydration, although these waters contain many other minerals too, so the effect cannot be attributed to silicium alone.4

That is why we talk about silicium as part of a mineral-rich formula, not as a stand-alone active ingredient.

An honest note on Quartz Crystal and water

Quartz is one of the most stable minerals on Earth. At room temperature, water in full equilibrium with quartz holds at most about 11 mg of dissolved silica per litre, and quartz reaches that point very slowly.5,6 So the amount of silicium a crystal adds to a formula is small. We value the Quartz Crystal in every ANAS product as a real mineral at the heart of the ritual, and we do not claim that the crystal on its own changes your skin.

How ANAS brings silicium into the ritual

Every ANAS Crystal Care product contains a real Quartz Crystal. Our water-based formulas are made with Thermo-Volcanic Water from the Auvergne, a naturally mineralised spring water. Together with skin-caring plant oils and butters, they form the mineral-rich base of our Crystal Technology.

Want to know how the crystal ends up in the bottle? Read How ANAS Crystal Technology works.

In short

  • Silicium is linked to collagen and connective tissue, and its levels in tissue decline with age.
  • The strongest human evidence comes from oral supplements, not from skincare.
  • Evidence for silicium applied to the skin is limited; mineral-rich thermal waters are promising but contain many minerals.
  • A Quartz Crystal releases only small amounts of silica into water.

ANAS products are cosmetics. They are not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any medical condition. The studies on this page did not test ANAS products.

Sources

  1. Araújo LA, Addor F, Campos PMBGM. Use of silicon for skin and hair care: an approach of chemical forms available and efficacy. Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia 2016;91(3):331–335. Source ↗
  2. Reffitt DM, Ogston N, Jugdaohsingh R, et al. Orthosilicic acid stimulates collagen type 1 synthesis and osteoblastic differentiation in human osteoblast-like cells in vitro. Bone 2003;32(2):127–135. Source ↗
  3. Barel A, Calomme M, Timchenko A, et al. Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on skin, nails and hair in women with photodamaged skin. Archives of Dermatological Research 2005;297(4):147–153. Source ↗
  4. Legido JL et al. Unveiling the role of minerals and trace elements of thermal waters in skin health. Applied Sciences 2024;14:6291. Source ↗
  5. Rimstidt JD. Quartz solubility at low temperatures. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1997;61(13):2553–2558. Source ↗
  6. Rimstidt JD, Barnes HL. The kinetics of silica–water reactions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 1980;44(11):1683–1699. Source ↗
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