now it has been discovered that ascorbic acid can be stabilized against decomposition and also stably suspended in a system containing a crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane elastomer and a volatile siloxane . although not wishing to be bound by any theory , it is considered that the elastomer provides a three - dimensional structure which prevents vitamin c from precipitating from either water or oil phases . moreover , the three - dimensional structure allows the amount of water to be minimized thereby minimizing ascorbic acid oxidation . ascorbic acid is available from several sources including roche chemicals . amounts of this material may range from 0 . 001 to 50 %, preferably from 0 . 1 to 10 %, optimally from 1 to 10 % by weight . crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane elastomers of this invention will have an average number molecular weight in excess of 10 , 000 , preferably in excess of 1 , 000 , 000 and optimally will range from 10 , 000 to 20 million . the term &# 34 ; non - emulsifying &# 34 ; defines a siloxane from which polyoxyalkylene units are absent . illustrative of the elastomer is a material with the ctfa name of crosslinked stearyl methyl - dimethyl siloxane copolymer , available as gransil sr - cyc ( 25 - 35 % active elastomer ) from grant industries , inc ., elmwood park , n . j . supply of related elastomer may also be available from the general electric company . amounts of the elastomer may range from 0 . 1 to 30 %, preferably from 1 to 15 %, optimally from 3 to 10 % by weight . a third essential element of the present invention is that of a volatile siloxane . illustrative of this category are the cyclo polydimethyl siloxane fluids of the formula (( ch 3 ) 2 sio )) x , wherein x denotes an integer of from 3 to 6 . the cyclic siloxanes will have a boiling point of less than 250 ° c . and a viscosity at 25 ° c . of less than 10 centipoise . cyclomethicone is the common name of such materials . the tetramer and pentamer cyclomethicones are commercially available as dc 244 and dc 344 from the dow corning corporation . amounts of the volatile siloxane will range from 10 to 80 %, preferably from 20 to 70 %, optimally from 30 to 65 % by weight . compositions of this invention may further include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . generally the carrier will be an ingredient which can solubilize vitamin c and all other elements of the composition . amounts of the carrier may range from 1 to 70 %, preferably from 10 to 60 %, optimally from 20 to 50 % by weight . pharmaceutically acceptable carriers may be selected from water , polyols , silicone fluids , esters and mixtures thereof . when present , water may range from 0 . 5 to 20 %, preferably from 1 to 10 %, usually from 2 to 6 %, optimally less than 5 % by weight of the composition . advantageously one or more polyols are present as carriers in the compositions of this invention . illustrative are propylene glycol , dipropylene glycol , polypropylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , sorbitol , hydroxypropyl sorbitol , hexylene glycol , 1 , 3 - butylene glycol , 1 , 2 , 6 - hexanetriol , glycerin , ethoxylated glycerin , propoxylated glycerin and mixtures thereof . most preferably the polyol is a mixture of polyethylene glycol , molecular weight ranging from 200 to 2 , 000 , and propylene glycol . preferred weight ratios of polyethylene glycol to propylene glycol range from 5 : 1 to 1 : 10 , preferably from 2 : 1 to 1 : 5 , optimally 1 : 1 to 1 : 2 . amounts of the polyol may range from 1 to 50 %, preferably from 10 to 40 %, optimally from 25 to 35 % by weight of the composition . silicone oils may also be included as carriers in the compositions of this invention . these oils will be nonvolatile . the nonvolatile silicone oils useful in the compositions of this invention are exemplified by the polyalkyl siloxanes , polyalklyaryl siloxanes and polyether siloxane copolymers . the essentially nonvolatile polyalkyl siloxanes useful herein include , for example , polydimethyl siloxanes with viscosities of from about 5 to about 100 , 000 centistokes at 25 ° c . such polyalkyl siloxanes include the viscasil series ( sold by general electric company ) and the dow corning 200 series ( sold by dow corning corporation ). polyalkylaryl siloxanes include poly ( methylphenyl ) siloxanes having viscosities of from about 15 to about 65 centistokes at 25 ° c . these are available , for example , as sf 1075 methylphenyl fluid ( sold by general electric company ) and 556 cosmetic grade fluid ( sold by dow corning corporation ). useful polyether siloxane copolymers include , for example , a polyoxyalkylene ether copolymer having a viscosity of about 1200 to 1500 centistokes at 25 ° c . such a fluid is available as sf - 1066 organosilicone surfactant ( sold by general electric company ). cetyl dimethicone copolyol and cetyl dimethicone are especially preferred because these materials also function as emulsifiers and emollients . the former material is available from goldschmidt ag under the trademark abil em - 90 . amounts of the nonvolatile siloxane may range from 0 . 1 to 40 %, preferably from 0 . 5 to 25 % by weight of the composition . esters may also be incorporated into the cosmetic compositions as pharmaceutically acceptable carriers . amounts may range from 0 . 1 to 50 % by weight of the composition . among the esters are : ( 1 ) alkyl esters of fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms . methyl , isopropyl , and butyl esters of fatty acids are useful herein . examples include hexyl laurate , isohexyl laurate , isohexyl palmitate , isopropyl palmitate , decyl oleate , isodecyl oleate , hexadecyl stearate , decyl stearate , isopropyl isostearate , diisopropyl adipate , diisohexyl adipate , dihexyldecyl adipate , diisopropyl sebacate , lauryl lactate , myristyl lactate , and cetyl lactate . particularly preferred are c 12 - c 15 alcohol benzoate esters . ( 2 ) alkenyl esters of fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms . examples thereof include oleyl myristate , oleyl stearate , and oleyl oleate . ( 4 ) polyhydric alcohol esters . ethylene glycol mono and di - fatty acid esters , diethylene glycol mono - and di - fatty acid esters , polyethylene glycol ( 200 - 6000 ) mono - and di - fatty acid esters , propylene glycol mono - and di - fatty acid esters , polypropylene glycol 2000 monooleate , polypropylene glycol 2000 monostearate , ethoxylated propylene glycol monostearate , glyceryl mono - and di - fatty acid esters , polyglycerol poly - fatty esters , ethoxylated glyceryl monostearate , 1 , 3 - butylene glycol monostearate , 1 , 3 - butylene glycol distearate , polyoxyethylene polyol fatty acid ester , sorbitan fatty acid esters , and polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters are satisfactory polyhydric alcohol esters . ( 5 ) wax esters such as beeswax , spermaceti , myristyl myristate , stearyl stearate . ( 6 ) sterols esters , of which cholesterol fatty acid esters are examples thereof . minor adjunct ingredients may also be included in cosmetic compositions of this invention . these ingredients may be selected from preservatives , fragrances , anti - foam agents , opacifiers , colorants and mixtures thereof , each in their effective amounts to accomplish their respective functions . the following examples will more fully illustrate the embodiments of this invention . all parts , percentages and proportions referred to herein and in the appended claims are by weight unless otherwise indicated . the effect of a crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane polymer was evaluated in contrast to related siloxanes with respect to suspension / uniform distribution of vitamin c and resistance to oxidation under storage conditions . formulations and test results are outlined under table i . table i______________________________________ example no . ( weight %) 1a 1b 1c 1d______________________________________componentcyclomethicone 55 . 5 60 . 0 55 . 5 55 . 5polyethylene glycol 200 20 . 25 20 . 25 20 . 25 20 . 25water 14 . 0 14 . 0 14 . 0 14 . 0ascorbic acid 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0em - 90 ( cetyl dimethicone 0 . 75 0 . 75 0 . 75 0 . 75copolyol ) gransil sr cyl 4 . 5 -- -- --(% elastomer active ) dc 200 fluid -- -- 4 . 5 --( polydimethylsiloxane ) gransurf 671 ( ethoxylated -- -- -- 4 . 5dimethicone copolyol ) resultsascorbic acid retention (%) 2 weeks at rt 98 . 6 phase phase phase separation separation separation2 weeks at 110 ° c . 97 . 84 weeks at 110 ° c . 87 . 9______________________________________ formulation 1a was a homogeneous stable aesthetically pleasing emulsion of cream - like consistency which retained vitamin c unoxidized for at least two weeks both at room temperature and at 110 ° c . by contrast , formulations 1b , 1c and 1d did not form a stable emulsion . these formulations separated and therefore did not uniformly suspend ascorbic acid . a series of further examples were prepared . their compositions are outlined under table ii . these formulations provide good storage stability for the ascorbic acid and are aesthetically consumer acceptable . table ii______________________________________ example no . ( weight %) component 2 3 4 5______________________________________cyclomethicone 42 . 0 41 . 6 40 . 0 42 . 0gransil sr cyl 18 . 0 17 . 9 17 . 3 18 . 0propylene glycol 16 . 8 14 . 8 17 . 5 15 . 0polyethylene glycol 200 11 . 0 13 . 7 13 . 5 13 . 5ascorbic acid 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0 5 . 0dimethyl isosorbide 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0cetyl dimethicone copolyol 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8water balance balance balance balance______________________________________ these series of examples illustrate the scope of the present invention . various concentrations of ascorbic acid , cyclomethicone and siloxane elastomer are illustrated . table iii______________________________________ example no . ( weight %) component 6 7 8 9 10 11 12______________________________________cyclomethicone 36 . 0 36 . 0 36 . 0 40 . 0 40 . 0 45 . 0 32 . 0gransil sr cyl 24 . 0 24 . 0 24 . 0 20 . 0 20 . 0 15 . 0 27 . 0butylene glycol 17 . 5 -- 17 . 5 -- -- -- 29 . 0glycerin -- 17 . 5 -- -- -- -- -- polyethylene glycol 10 . 0 -- -- 17 . 5 12 . 0 10 . 0 10 . 0200polyethylene glycol -- 10 . 0 10 . 0 10 . 0 12 . 0 10 . 0 -- 800dimethyl isosorbide 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0 4 . 0 5 . 0 10 . 0 1 . 0ascorbic acid 1 . 0 1 . 0 1 . 0 4 . 0 4 . 0 5 . 0 0 . 5cetyl dimethicone 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 -- -- copolyolwater bal . bal . bal . bal . bal . bal . bal . ______________________________________ the foregoing description and examples illustrate selected embodiments of the present invention . in light thereof variations and modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art , all of which are within the spirit and purview of this invention .