What's in it Wednesday - Sands Alive! What the HEAK is this stuff???

So this week I took Bella and her friend to a rainbow loom bracelet making class at the Learning Express. It is a fun little toy store that my kids constantly beg to go to. Partly because it is by the carousel and also because the toys are out for kids to play with. So while I was gladly waiting for Bella as someone else fussed with her and that damn, I mean adorable rainbow loom I found this amazing indoor play sand called "Sands Alive" by Play Vision.

This picture doesn't do it justice at all. All the video demos online are far too annoying and really don't show the product very well. It is hard to explain but it is really cool stuff. It isn't totally like moon sand or kinetic sand. Its more like if silly-putty and baby-powder had a baby. It is so relaxing. So I really wanted to know what it was and how to not have to spend $80 for it. Here is the problem though.  No ingredients listed...that's right not even one.  A bunch of crap that is. Apparently it is super top secret because not even pinterest has a knock-off. So for this what's in it Wednesday I am totally one hundred percent guessing what the heak "Sands Alive" is.  After digging though some chemistry blogs and based on what the sales guy did tell me about the product I have concluded that 2 ingredients are...

Calcium Carbonate & Polydimethylsiloxane

This first one was easy... The sales guy said that the sand portion is made from "real sea shells" and sea shells are made primarily of "Calcium Carbonate".  Done

Now all I know about the next ingredient or ingredients is that they are all natural (this means so little as there are many many very harmful naturally occurring substances). I also know that it is non-toxic. This helps a bit more than none at all as I know it should be an edible ingredient that is hard to overdose on. It also has anti bacterial properties (this may or may not be one ingredient). After considering a few possibilities I think it must be Polydimethysiloxane. I wouldn't bet my life on it but I would bet the $11 it cost to order a small amount from Esty.

So Polydimethysiloxane is a silicon-based organic polymer. It is also known as dimethicone, E 900 & PDMS, additionally it is also what the Monica Sweetheart Fantasy Pink Vibrating Dong and Herbalife Chocolate protein drink mix have in common (thank you Amazon). No joke. Really it is. According to WebMD very serious side effects are rare. It is most famously the main ingredient in "silly putty". Food Babe has a whole thing on it. She is a bit dramatic but not wrong. To me it seems safe enough to handle but I probably won't be adding it to my fried chips anytime soon.

I will be testing out this theory as soon as my jar of dimethicone arrives...TO BE CONTINUED...