Our generation has finally realized the toxic effects of plastic,
And its imposed carcinogenic effects on human health as well as the detrimental effects such products have on our environment and wildlife.
Luckily with the help of advancements in science for processing and a few influential minds,
There is a new product in the market that will help us embark upon a journey that will hopefully end the plastic exploitation routine humanity has been addicted to for ages.
This new and sudden appearance of a product that is beneficial for human health as well as favorable for the environment has come as beneficence for society as a whole.
This miracle product is surprisingly simple and can replace plastic in various domains,
Thus freeing us of the guilt that we may be somehow contributing to the continuous destruction of our very own environment and other living beings of this planet.
The most common name in every market that used to conjure plastic and heavily depended upon this complex material for their production is our newly found superhero, aka silicone.
Unlike plastic or any other alternatives for the most basic materials that we experience in our everyday life, silicone is a somewhat simpler material.
That being said, it is the simplicity of the structure of silicone that it has paved its way into the industry without having a fallout.
With the society now being revolutionized with silicone dominating the market,
And fulfilling all needs from being used as a building material for toys to one of the most sought-after materials for medical treatment,
There are questions of the masses that need to be cleared up for us to accept silicone as a plastic alternative finally.
We have all the details you would want to know about creating the perfect colored silicone.
Silicone is a polymer made with the elements that are used to construct synthetic plastic with the addition of elements from synthetic rubber.
The overall appearance of silicone-based products is similar to that of rubber with limited stretch and elasticity.
Still, silicone is often found in a semi-solid state and can be converted into other amorphous forms, as needed by the manufacturer.
Chemically, silicone is a polymer of siloxane, which means it is constructed by joining hundreds of monomers (single units) of siloxane together to form polysiloxane.
If broken down, further siloxane is converted into simple compounds of silicon and oxygen, which are the universal constituents of sand, and an organic group such as phenols or alkyls.
The most attractive quality of silicone that has diversified its usage into various industries lies in the simplicity of its structure.
There are little to no inter-linkage bonds that would create massive disruption in the degradation process of silicone.
Moreover, silicone-based products, once decomposed into their foundational elements, do not convert into toxic substances. They are safe for humans and also do not pose any threat to wildlife as well.
The practicability of silicone products, especially kitchen utensils, does not change even after the addition of colors.
However, other products such as toys, packaging materials, and alloys used in industrial products, where the final look of a product is equally important as its function.
Attractive and differing colors have the tendency to catch a person’s eye, and thus, the addition of pigment can give a product a significant sales edge.
In this way, in the marketing industry, for such products to be engineered carefully within safe boundaries with the addition of new and excitable colors becomes extremely important.
For a product to gain an edge over its competitors, it is vital that the product must be eye-catching for the consumer, and that can only be made possible with the addition of colors and hues.
So, inevitably the success of any product is not only determined by its practicality but also its uniqueness and attraction for the human eye.
Now, let’s answer the elephant in the room!
Is it safe to add color to silicone products commercially or at home?
The answer to this question is a partial yes, as there are tons of silicone products in the market that have been introduced in distinct colors.
However, we are a little bit skeptical about coloring your silicone products at home,
Because due to even minor negligence and inability to procure commercial-grade silicone colors, you may end up adding toxic substances from colors into your silicone utensils.
There is a range of colors to choose from if you want to add a differentiative note to your product and want it to stand out in the eyes of the consumer.
There are different companies that lead in manufacturing paints that are made specifically for the purpose of adding colorful hues to everyday silicone essentials.
There are some certified brands that have the clearance to produce such substances, but their main agenda and materials are almost the same. The two most basic forms of silicone colors are:
They are present in the market with varying nomenclature as decided by the brand marketing these products.
These pigments present different hues that basically show the primary or secondary colors that can be further mixed to attain any other desired color or a color combination.
The special effect of these pigments is that they can go a long way, so even a little bit of addition to the mixture can impart a very powerful color on the concerning product.
Dyeing silicone is not a very tough job to do, and if it wasn’t for the negligible behavior of the masses, we might even have allowed such practices to be carried out at home.
Nevertheless, if you decide on being super attentive and a little skilled at hand, then the addition of colors to your silicone products is a no brainer.
The process of adding pigments to liquid and solid silicone is different, but the basics are pretty much the same.
For liquid silicone, you can just add your product into a container and mix the color in as much as you would like and stir till it dissolves completely. For solid silicone;
And voila! Now you have the silicone product with the desired colors.
There are many types of silicone, and the simplicity of the chemical structure of silicone also provides the opportunity to be converted into alloys,
Thus further expanding the market and usage of silicone in different products.
The products that have silicone in their bases are, quite literally, very diversified, and it is not possible to cover all of the products in our concise blog.
However, some everyday items have become so mainstream that we do not realize that their bases are made from silicone, and we unknowingly have chosen such products over those of plastic origin.
Here is a mention for the industry that first adopted silicone as a safe alternative, aka medical industry.
For years we have been using products that were conjured up from silicone without precipitous realization of their origin.
The feeding tubes, catheters, syringe pistons, long and short-term implants, respiratory masks, and scar treatments with medical-grade silicone, has made its headway in the most important of all industries.
With discussion of day to day items, cooking utensils are of utmost importance.
Nowadays, most bakeware and cooking tools are made with silicone not to damage our non-stick pans.
However, there are guidelines to follow while using silicone products for cooking, such as not to expose these products to heat conditions more than 572-degree Fahrenheit.
Let’s start from the very basic products: rainy days use products such as adhesives and sealants, guaranteed most of the people nowadays own a glue gun, well the ‘glue’ in that is basically silicone.
Having said that, you should always purchase products made with silicone that have been approved by the FDA or relevant authorities of your area.
Toys are just one group of inevitable objects that even non-parents cannot avoid purchasing.
With so many revelations about plastic toys that have toxic elements in them and are the primary reason for carcinogenic effects in children due to accidental ingestion, we knew this industry needed to change the most.
The newer, more sophisticated, and somewhat expensive toys that have been produced by authentic companies that do care about their key demographic and the health of their clientele have started using silicone instead of plastic.
Even though it takes a bit of processing to create an alloy of silicone that can be used in toy production, the ultimate result is still safer than plastic, and the by-products of silicone degradation can be safely excreted by the body.