If you’ve ever purchased concentrates from a dispensary, chances are that you took your product to go in a silicone wax container or, at the very least, plastic containers with silicone inserts. Silicone has pretty much become a standard for transporting the stickiest of concentrates, including waxes and shatters, due to the material’s non-stick benefits as well as its cost effectiveness. It’s easy to take silicone for granted but there are a variety of reasons why it remains such a popular material in the 710 world. Silicone dab containers, or, more accurately in some cases, silicone inserts for glass dab containers, are the perfect answer to the common questions “how to store dabs.”
What Exactly is Silicone Anyway?
In the context of silicone containers, the material silicone is actually a combination of silicone and oxygen atoms deliberately assembled in a chain. Silicone can be fairly diverse as far as which compounds are used to create the silicone polymer but combining the silicone atoms in an alternating chain with oxygen atoms is what gives the material such flexibility, resilience, and sleekness (all important factors for successful silicone dab storage).
Silicone is All Around You
Silicone dab containers have been popular in dispensaries that cater to the 710 community for some time but the everyday use of silicone in domestic life goes back over a century. Outside of a dispensary, you can find silicone commonly used in everything from auto parts to cookware. Its low levels of toxicity have found it heavily used in the medical industry as well as in children’s toys. Its stability in a wide spectrum of temperatures renders it an ideal component in sensitive electronics and as firestops in buildings and aircrafts. With so many diverse uses for silicone, its eventual introduction as affordable, non-stick dab containers makes perfect sense.
The Versatile Benefits of Temperature Resistance
So, is silicone heat resistant? Yes! Silicone’s heat resistance plays a major part in its popular applications in both the 420 and 710 communities. It’s been used to create virtually unbreakable water pipes and, besides its wide use in wax containers, it’s used for concentrate paraphernalia such as dab mats. You can even buy silicone ashtrays thanks to food grade silicone’s ability to withstand temperatures up to 572° F. Resisting heat of such intensity means that you can actually toss silicone wax containers (as long as they are completely crafted from high quality, food grade silicone) into a dishwasher after use without fearing that their integrity will be compromised. The properties of silicone also make it a great insulating material. You don’t want to expose your concentrates to too much heat prior to use, so dab containers made from silicone help to maintain the integrity of oils and shatters.
Non-Stick Qualities of Silicone Dab Containers
Arguably, the most attractive feature of silicone dab containers is their non-stick quality. Silicone presents a slick surface that allows consumers to more easily harness every last drop of concentrate, no matter how tenaciously sticky they may be. For those with medical ailments that make working with their hands difficult, this can be especially helpful since they can collect a dose of medicine without exerting unnecessary effort. For those using concentrates recreationally, it's more a matter of getting the most bang for their buck. High quality concentrates come with a hefty price tag attached and no one wants to leave any precious wax residue behind.
Silicone Containers Aren’t Always Airtight
Silicone dab containers are best used for utility and transport as opposed to long-term storage. Much of this is due to most silicone containers not being airtight. Prolonged exposure to oxygen can dry out your waxes and other concentrates. If you absolutely need to use a silicone wax container for storage, you’re better off investing in a container made of another material, like plastic, with a silicone insert. The popularity of concentrates continues to rise. Michael Ray, who founded San Francisco cannabis company Bloom Farms, stated in an interview that concentrates “are used in probably 95 percent of the branded products” they make. The affordability and utility of silicone concentrate containers along with the escalating popularity of concentrates means we’ll see silicone uses for waxes, shatters and other sticky dabs for years to come.
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