now it has been found that a crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane elastomer in combination with a volatile siloxane and an aqueous phase result in a highly stable system and deliver an unusually soft , silky afferfeel to skin . crosslinked non - emulsifying siloxane elastomers are a first essential element of this invention . they will have an average number molecular weight in excess of 2 , 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 . advantageously the elastomers are formed from a divinyl compound , particularly a polymer with at least two free vinyl groups , reacting with si - h linkages of a polysiloxane backbone such as a molecularly spherical mq resin . elastomer compositions are commercially available from the general electric company under product designation general electric silicone 1229 with proposed ctfa name of cyclomethicone and vinyl dimethicone / methicone cross polymer , delivered as 20 - 35 % elastomer in a cyclomethicone carrier . a related elastomer composition under the ctfa name of crosslinked stearyl methyl dimethyl siloxane copolymer is available as gransil sr - cyc ( 25 - 35 % elastomer in cyclomethicone ) from grant industries , inc ., elmwood park , n . j . the commercial products from general electric and grant industries ordinarily are further processed by subjecting them to a high pressure ( approximately 5 , 000 psi ) treatment in a sonolator with recycling in 10 to 60 passes . sonolation achieves a resultant fluid with elastomer average particle size ranging from 0 . 2 to 10 micron , preferably 0 . 5 to 5 micron . viscosity is best when ranging between 300 and 20 , 000 cps at 25 ° c . as measured by a brookfield lv viscometer ( size 4 bar , 60 rpm , 15 sec .). amounts of the elastomer may range from 0 . 1 to 30 %, optimally from 1 to 15 %, most preferably from 3 to 10 % by weight . compositions of the invention may optionally contain a skin conditioning agent . these agents may be selected from humectants , exfoliants or emollients . humectants are polyhydric alcohols intended for moisturizing , reducing scaling and stimulating removal of built - up scale from the skin . typical polyhydric alcohols include polyalkylene glycols and more preferably alkylene polyols and their derivatives . illustrative are propylene glycol , dipropylene glycol , polypropylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , sorbitol , hydroxypropyl sorbitol , hexylene glycol , 1 , 3 - butylene glycol , 1 , 2 , 6 - hexanetriol , ethoxylated glycerin , propoxylated glycerin and mixtures thereof . most preferably the humectant is glycerin . amounts of humectant may range anywhere from 1 to 50 %, preferably from 10 to 40 %, optimally from 25 to 35 % by weight . exfoliants according to the present invention may be selected from alpha - hydroxycarboxylic acids , beta - hydroxycarboxylic acids and salts of these acids . most preferred are glycolic , lactic and salicylic acids and their ammonium salts . a wide variety of c 2 - c 30 alpha - hydroxycarboxylic acids may be employed . suitable examples include : when the conditioning agent is an emollient it may be selected from hydrocarbons , fatty acids , fatty alcohols and esters . petrolatum is the most preferred hydrocarbon type of emollient conditioning agent . other hydrocarbons that may be employed include mineral oil , polyolefins such as polydecene , and parafins such as isohexadecane ( e . g . permethyl 99 ® and permethyl 101 ®). fatty acids and alcohols will have from 10 to 30 carbon atoms . illustrative of this category are pelargonic , lauric , myristic , palmitic , stearic , isostearic , hydroxystearic , oleic , linoleic , ricinoleic , arachidic , behenic and erucic acids and alcohols . oily ester emollients may be those selected from one or more of the following classes : 1 . triglyceride esters such as vegetable and animal fats and oils . examples include castor oil , cocoa butter , safflower oil , cottonseed oil , corn oil , olive oil , cod liver oil , almond oil , avocado oil , palm oil , sesame oil , squalene , kikui oil and soybean oil . 4 . 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 . 5 . alkenyl esters of fatty acids having 10 to 20 carbon atoms . examples thereof include oleyl myristate , oleyl stearate , and oleyl oleate . 7 . 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 polyfatty esters , ethoxylated glyceryl monostearate , 1 , 2 - butylene glycol monostearate , 1 , 2 - butylene glycol distearate , polyoxyethylene polyol fatty acid ester , sorbitan fatty acid esters , and polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters are satisfactory polyhydric alcohol esters . 8 . wax esters such as beeswax , spermaceti , myristyl myristate , stearyl stearate . amounts of the skin conditioning agent may range from 1 to 50 %, preferably from 3 to 25 %, optimally from 5 to 20 % by weight . a second essential element of the present invention is that of a volatile siloxane . the term &# 34 ; volatile &# 34 ; refers to those materials having a measurable pressure at ambient conditions . volatile polyorganosiloxanes useful herein may be cyclic or linear . preferred cyclic silicones include polydimethylsiloxanes containing from about 3 to about 9 silicon atoms , preferably containing from about 4 to about 5 silicon atoms , generally known as cyclomethicones . preferred linear silicone oils include the polydimethylsiloxanes containing from about 3 to about 9 silicon atoms . the linear volatile silicones generally have viscosities of less than about 5 centistokes at 25 ° c ., while the cyclic materials have viscosities of less than about 10 centistokes , the preferable range being from 0 . 1 to 8 centistokes . examples of silicone oils useful in the present invention include : dow corning 244 , dow corning 245 , dow corning 344 , dow corning 345 and dow corning 200 ( manufactured by the dow corning corporation ); silicone 7207 and silicone 7158 ( manufactured by the union carbide corporation ); sf1202 ( manufactured by general electric ). amounts of the volatile siloxane will range from 10 to 80 %, preferably from 20 to 70 %, optimally from 30 to 65 % by weight . cosmetic compositions of the present invention will contain substantial levels of water . emulsions of the present invention will contain water in amounts ranging from 50 to 85 %, preferably from 55 to 70 % by weight . the emulsions may be of the oil - in - water , water - in - oil or duplex variety . most especially , the invention is concerned with the water - in - oil variety . aqueous to oily phases will range in weight from 10 : 1 to 1 : 10 , preferably from 1 : 1 to 2 : 1 , optimally from 1 : 1 to 1 . 5 : 1 . most preferable for the present invention are water - in - oil emulsions having a high internal ( water ) phase volume . surfactants will be a further component of compositions according to the present invention . these may be selected from nonionic , anionic , cationic or amphoteric emulsifying agents . they may range in amount anywhere from about 0 . 1 to about 20 % by weight . illustrative nonionic surfactants are alkoxylated compounds based on c 10 - c 22 fatty alcohols and acids , and sorbitan . these materials are available , for instance , from the shell chemical company under the neodol trademark . copolymers of polyoxypropylene - polyoxyethylene , sold by the basf corporation under the pluronic trademark , are sometimes also useful . alkyl polyglycosides available from the henkel corporation may also be utilized for purposes of this invention . anionic type surfactants include fatty acid soaps , sodium lauryl sulphate , sodium lauryl ether sulphate , alkyl benzene sulphonate , mono - and di - alkyl acid phosphates and sodium fatty acyl isethionate . amphoteric surfactants include such materials as dialkylamine oxide and various types of betaines ( such as cocamidopropyl betaine ). preservatives can desirably be incorporated into the compositions of this invention to protect against the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms . while it is in the aqueous phase that microorganisms tend to grow , microorganisms can also reside in the oil phase . as such , preservatives which have solubility in both water and oil are preferably employed in the present compositions . suitable traditional preservatives are alkyl esters of parahydroxybenzoic acid . other preservatives which have more recently come into use include hydantoin derivatives , propionate salts , and a variety of quaternary ammonium compounds . cosmetic chemists are familiar with appropriate preservatives and routinely choose them to satisfy the preservative challenge test and to provide product stability . particularly preferred preservatives are methyl paraben , propyl paraben , imidazolidinyl urea , sodium dehydroacetate and benzyl alcohol . the preservatives should be selected having regard for the use of the composition and possible incompatibilities between the preservatives and other ingredients in the emulsion . preservatives are preferably employed in amounts ranging from 0 . 01 % to 2 % by weight of the composition . minor adjunct ingredients may also be included such as fragrances , antifoam agents , opacifiers and colorants , 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 . this example illustrates an aqueous emulsion skin treatment composition typical of the present invention . components listed in the table below are added together in a vessel at 60 ° c . and mixed with a homogenizing agitator . thereafter they are subjected to sonolation at 800 - 1 , 000 psi for five to ten minutes . the resultant product is a non - greasy lotion with a very silky afterfeel . table i______________________________________component weight % ______________________________________glycerin 9 . 5gransil sr - cyc 20water 50dc 244 fluid ® 20polysorbate 20 0 . 5______________________________________ a series of formulations were prepared to evaluate the effect of water upon emulsion stability and the quality of elastomer / siloxane systems . table ii lists the compositions and table iii describes physical properties of the resultant emulsions . only the 50 % aqueous system exhibited a satisfactory emulsion quality . table ii______________________________________ formulation ( weight %) components a b c d______________________________________demineralized water 50 40 30 20polysorbate 20 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1carbomer ( 2 % in 0 . 4 0 . 4 0 . 4 0 . 4water ) triethanolamine 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5 0 . 5vinyl dimethicone / 24 24 24 24methiconecrosspolymer ( 25 % active incyclomethicone ) cyclomethicone 24 34 44 54______________________________________ formulationresults a b c d______________________________________appearance creamy and translucent translucent clear whiteemulsion good fail fail failquality water in mixed complete complete silicone w / s - s / w phase phase emulsion emulsion separation separation slight white phase particulates separation suspended______________________________________ illustrated in the table below are a series of aqueous emulsion formulations according to the skin treatment compositions of the present invention of the present invention . these examples can be prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 1 . table iii__________________________________________________________________________ example no . ( weight %) component 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11__________________________________________________________________________petrolatum 2 10 -- -- -- -- -- 10 -- isohexadecane 8 -- 10 -- -- -- -- -- -- glycerin -- -- -- 10 -- -- 5 10 5propylene glycol -- -- -- -- 10 -- -- -- -- polyethylene glycol -- -- -- -- -- 10 5 -- -- crosslinked siloxane 20 20 20 10 10 10 10 15 10elastomerpolysorbate 20 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8 0 . 8water 60 60 60 50 50 50 50 50 70cyclomethicone 10 10 10 30 30 30 30 15 10__________________________________________________________________________ the foregoing description and examples illustrate select embodiments of the present invention . in light thereof , various modifications will be suggested to one skilled in the art , all of which are within the purview and spirit of this invention .