Ma
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
A purified clay — thickens formulas, suspends pigments, and keeps emulsions from separating.
What it does
It’s a purified clay that swells in water into a gel. It’s there for texture, not to change your skin.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a thickener (controls how thick the product is), an opacifier (makes the product less see-through) and an absorbent (soaks up water or oil).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2025) judged 24 silicates, magnesium aluminum silicate among them, safe as used in products made not to irritate. Some silicates are mined, and only mined ones can contain crystalline silica, a known cause of serious lung disease, including cancer. For mined silicates in products that might be breathed in, they had too little data to judge.Burnett 2025 · International Journal of Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Browse all 1238 ingredients — grouped by what they do, each with whatever evidence we can cite.
This page is public so a shared ingredient card always has its sources behind it — and so you can check them without an account.
Want more like this?
Every evidence-based flag cites its source, Drop tells you when your routine is complete, and it helps you simplify — instead of selling you more. The app launches on iOS and Android in October 2026. Rate my routine works today at /rate — no sign-in.