Silica (Orthosilicic Acid)
Decades of beauty and fascia promotion resting on one 50-person trial and a bone marker.
D+
Evidence grade
D
Worth it
$12-25/month
Typical cost
DoseThe studied form is choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid providing 10 mg of elemental silicon daily (typically 5 drops or one capsule twice daily). Ordinary dietary silicon intake is 20 to 50 mg/day from grains, green beans, and beer, but much of it is in poorly absorbed forms; horsetail and bamboo extracts sold as 'silica' have substantially lower and less characterized bioavailability than the stabilized orthosilicic acid used in trials, so trial results do not transfer across labels.
BasisSilica is a case for this library's existence: heavily promoted for hair, skin, nails, joints, and fascia, and supported by exactly one small sponsored cosmetic trial, one marker-level bone study, and dietary associations.
Silicon is a trace element involved in connective tissue and bone formation in animal models. We grade Silica (Orthosilicic Acid) D+ on evidence and D for worth-it at about $12-25 per month.
What it does
Silicon is a trace element involved in connective tissue and bone formation in animal models. Orthosilicic acid is its absorbable form, stabilized with choline in the studied products. It is sold for skin, hair, nails, joints, and fascia health, with an enthusiastic advocacy culture that runs well ahead of the trial record graded here.
What the research says
One small industry-linked trial improved skin surface measures and hair and nail brittleness
Evidence: emerging. Barel 2005 randomized 50 women with photoaged skin to choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid (10 mg of silicon daily) or placebo for 20 weeks: skin roughness and elasticity measures improved modestly and hair and nail brittleness scores fell. It is the claim's entire trial base: one study, 50 people, cosmetic endpoints, sponsored by the ingredient's maker.
Bone support rests on a marker study and dietary epidemiology, not fracture or density outcomes
Evidence: weak. Spector 2008 combined ch-OSA with calcium and vitamin D in osteopenic women: a bone-formation marker rose and a femoral density trend appeared in a subgroup, without a significant overall density effect. Framingham cohort data (Jugdaohsingh 2004) linked higher dietary silicon to hip density in men and premenopausal women. Association plus markers, the standard preamble to a claim that has not yet been tested where it counts.
Silica is a case for this library's existence: heavily promoted for hair, skin, nails, joints, and fascia, and supported by exactly one small sponsored cosmetic trial, one marker-level bone study, and dietary associations. Nothing here is disproven; almost nothing is proven. D+ records a claim set that has had decades of commercial life to generate human evidence and has produced this much.
Is it worth it?
Evidence (D+) sits far below the leaderboard floor, so the worth-it grade is capped at C+; the derived value lands at D. About $18 a month for the studied stabilized form. Derived from the October 2026 worth-it model.
Typical cost
$12-25/month
Common form, not a brand recommendation
Dosage context established
The studied form is choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid providing 10 mg of elemental silicon daily (typically 5 drops or one capsule twice daily). Ordinary dietary silicon intake is 20 to 50 mg/day from grains, green beans, and beer, but much of it is in poorly absorbed forms; horsetail and bamboo extracts sold as 'silica' have substantially lower and less characterized bioavailability than the stabilized orthosilicic acid used in trials, so trial results do not transfer across labels.
Worth-it leaderboard
Silica (Orthosilicic Acid) sits outside the worth-it top 20.
Silica (Orthosilicic Acid) sits outside the current top 20 on the gated leaderboard. The leaders below clear an evidence floor of B- before price counts at all, so cheap alone never earns a rank.
- 1AWorth itCreatine evidence A-~$5-10/mo
- 2AWorth itCaffeine evidence B+~$5-10/mo
- 3AWorth itVitamin D evidence B~$5-8/mo
See the full worth-it leaderboard →
When the evidence moves a grade, this ranking moves with it. Thursday is where you hear it first.
Safety notes
Orthosilicic acid at studied doses has a clean short-term record; the kidney clears dietary silicon efficiently, and people with kidney failure should treat that organ's role seriously before supplementing. The historical silica harm (silicosis) is from inhaled crystalline silica dust in occupational settings and has nothing to do with oral supplements; confusing the two is common in both directions of the argument.
Longevity Lab Report
Silica (Orthosilicic Acid) news. Graded when it happens.
The grade on this page stays free. The email carries the news on silica (orthosilicic acid): expert moves, dose changes, and what is working, in plain English every Thursday.
Changelog
Last updated 2026-10-23
- 2026-10-23|Graded from the Barel skin trial, the Spector bone-marker trial, and the Framingham dietary analysis. Silica's best-known advocates in the fascia and beauty worlds promote it well beyond this file; the record grades the file.
- 2026-10-23|Listed under joint, the nearest of the library's ten goals to this record's skin and connective-tissue claims; the mapping is approximate and says so here.
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This grade for Silica (Orthosilicic Acid) rests on the record above. When a new result changes that record, the grade changes with it, and the Thursday email is where the change lands first: the week's longevity and biohacking news, in plain English, linked back to the reasoning on this page.
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