The invention relates to oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions which comprise: an oil phase (phase A), consisting of one, optionally more, substantially water-insoluble component(s), an aqueous phase (phase B), comprising optionally additional water-soluble components such as organic compounds such as alcohols, carboxylic acids or other compounds, pyrogenic silicic acid arranged on the oil-water interface and partially silylated in such a manner that the content in the non-silylated surface silanol groups on the silicon dioxide surface ranges between a maximum of 95 % and a minimum of 50 % of the starting silicon dioxide, equivalent to 1.7 to 0.9 SiOH groups per nm2 of the silicic acid surface, the dispersion content of the surface energy gamma-s-D ranging from 30 to 80 mJ/m2, and the specific BET surface area ranging from 30 to 500 m2/g, an electrolyte content in the aqueous phase which is adjusted in such a way that the ionic strength I of the solution is greater 10-6 mol/l, whereby the ionic strength is defined as I = ½*Σci*zi2, wherein ci is the concentration of the ion i in the solution, and zi is the charge of the ion i, the average particle size of the dispersed phase, i.e. the average droplet diameter, measured by laser diffraction, ranges from 0.5 µm to 500 µm, and optionally additional substances such as pigments or preservatives.