If you’ve ever held a Taba Squishy in your hand, you probably felt the same thing many customers tell us:
“How can something feel this soft, this realistic, and this detailed?”
And honestly, that’s one of our favorite questions — because the answer is a blend of real materials science and a lot of handcrafting.

But recently, we’ve seen misinformation spreading around the internet, especially from people who try to “test” squishy materials with a lighter and then jump to conclusions.
So we decided to write a proper, honest, expert-level explanation about what Taba Squishies are truly made of, how they behave under heat, and why they are absolutely not the same as cheap TPR toys.

This article is here to set the record straight in a simple, friendly, and transparent way.

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Why This Article Matters

The handmade silicone squishy world is growing fast, but so is the confusion.
Some people hear the word “silicone” and imagine a single universal behavior.
Others burn a tiny spot with a lighter and claim they’ve identified the material.

As the creators behind Pawkemon, we work with food-grade silicone every single day — mixing, curing, coloring, texturing, and sculpting it.
So this blog isn’t guesswork or copied information; it’s knowledge backed by real experience and material science.

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1. What Food-Grade Silicone Actually Is

Food-grade silicone is nothing like the plastics used in cheap toys.
It’s the same type of material found in:

• baby pacifiers
• baking molds
• kitchen utensils
• medical-contact tools

The important part?
It’s a thermoset material.

Once silicone cures, it forms a cross-linked 3D network.
This structure makes it extremely stable — far more stable than plastic.

That means:

• It doesn’t melt when heated
• It doesn’t drip
• It doesn’t collapse
• It only shows surface carbonization (darkening) under a pure flame

This is why food-grade silicone is valued: safe, durable, and heat-resistant.

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2. What TPR Is and Why It’s Not Comparable

TPR stands for Thermoplastic Rubber.
And that word “thermoplastic” already tells you everything.

TPR behaves like a plastic mixed with rubber — it melts when heated, softens quickly, and can be re-molded. Most cheap squishy toys in the market are made from some form of TPR because it’s inexpensive and fast to mass-produce.

When you expose TPR to flame, it will:

• soften immediately
• melt
• drip molten plastic
• burn continuously
• release a strong, unmistakable burning-plastic odor

If you’ve ever burned a plastic straw or a cheap toy, that’s exactly how TPR behaves.

And none of this happens with food-grade silicone.

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3. Why a Handmade Silicone Squishy Can Still Darken from Flame

Here’s where people get confused:
A finished Taba Squishy is not a single-material block.

It contains:

• hand-mixed silicone pigments
• thickening agents for drizzle/frosting textures
• decorative elements
• surface color layers
• detailed toppings and textures

All these components are part of the art and realism — the “food” look, the frosting, the fruit details, the shading, the soft gradients.

These additives are not high-temperature materials, so when someone applies a flame directly to the surface:

• pigments may darken
• decorative layers can carbonize
• drizzle textures can burn
• toppings can scorch

This is normal.
This is expected.
And most importantly:
This has nothing to do with the silicone base.

Burning the outside of a decorated squishy is like burning the icing on a cake and then claiming the cake flour is fake.
It simply doesn’t make sense.

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4. The Real Scientific Differences — Silicone vs. TPR

Forget the lighter test.
Here are the actual behaviors materials engineers look for:

If a product does not melt, drip, or release a harsh plastic smell,
then TPR can be completely ruled out.
There’s no debate.

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5. Why Pawkemon Chooses Food-Grade Silicone

We chose silicone because it gives us things no plastic ever could:

• the soft, bouncy, “real food” texture
• durability over years, not months
• safety — no leaking oils, no sticky aging
• highly detailed realism
• color vibrancy and smooth blending
• the ability to add frosting, drizzle, and sculpted toppings

Each Taba Squishy is hand-poured, hand-colored, hand-decorated, and finished one by one.
That’s why they look the way they do — soft, dreamy, ultra-realistic, and collectible.

They are not mass-factory TPR toys.
They are handcrafted silicone pieces.

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6. The Bottom Line — Don’t Let Non-Experts Define the Narrative

The biggest enemy of true craftsmanship isn’t bad materials.
It’s misinformation spoken confidently by people who don’t understand the science.

Here’s the truth:

• Taba Squishies use real food-grade silicone.
• Surface charring comes from pigments and decorations, not from silicone.
• Silicone does not melt or drip like TPR.
• A lighter test on a decorated, multi-layer squishy is not scientific.

We work closely with certified suppliers, real silicone compounds, and proper curing processes.
Our knowledge doesn’t come from guesses — it comes from years of actual experience.

And we’ll continue sharing honest, transparent information so that our customers always know the truth behind what they’re holding in their hands.