Wellness Wednesday - Natural Mineral Makeup good or bad?

 Mineral Makeup facts & myths (C) Sophie Sandstorm - All Rights Reserved

Last couple of years there has been a trend; avoiding chemicals and changing to safer and more natural makeup. I think it is great that people start to think about what are they putting to their skin, but many don't do the needed research and believe everything what advertising says. When mineral makeup started to become popular I started to get interested about it as it was 'natural and better for the skin', but there was many facts what the companies did not tell to their customers and 'natural' - word means a lot different to the consumer than what it means for the people making the cosmetics. Here are the common myths and facts:

MYTHS

Mineral make up is 'pure', more safe and better than normal makeup -not true

Mineral make up is more ethical -not true

FACTS

Inhaled mineral makeup can be dangerous - right

Mineral makeup can be better for irritated skin - right

Mineral makeup has natural SPF - right

What is mineral makeup?

Mineral makeup is form of makeup that is composed of compressed minerals usually mica and titanium dioxide. These minerals are a naturally occurring substance in nature. Using minerals as a makeup is not new as in ancient Egypt the earliest eye paint was a thick, bright green paste made from the mineral malachite.

What NATURAL makeup actually means?

A product is considered "natural" when it contains ingredients that are sourced from nature rather than created synthetically. Synthetic chemicals are produced through laboratory manipulation and are not found in nature, though it is possible to create synthetic versions of natural ingredients (such as Vitamin E.) Natural products generally don't include ingredients like petrochemicals, parabens, sodium lauryl and laureth sulfates, phthalates, synthetic dyes and synthetic colors. It's good to remember that 'natural' doesn't always mean better, even if all minerals are natural they can be poisonous to the skin for example Elizabeth the First of England used Cerussite or white lead as a powder, which is poisonous and disfigures the skin. Nowadays mineral cosmetics are made from mica and titanium dioxide, they are generally thought to be safe, but there is ongoing debate about it.

What is mica?

Mica is a colourant commonly used in cosmetic industry.

Mica is a silicate mineral which occurs in nature and goes through cutting, sorting and processing before being used in cosmetics. Mica mineral is used in many industries such as electrical industry, automobile industry and cosmetics. Mica can be natural and synthetic and it can be found almost all colour cosmetics. Lately there has been discussion about if natural mica is ethical as many countries where mica is mined use child labour example Lush changed to use synthetic mica as they couldn't guarantee that they don't use child labour. (click)

What is Titanium Dioxide?

Titanium Dioxide is white pigment commonly used in cosmetic industry.

Titanium Dioxide is silicate minerals and when used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is widely used to provide whiteness and opacity to products such as paints, plastics, papers, inks, foods, and cosmetics.

 Mineral Makeup facts & myths (C) Sophie Sandstorm - All Rights Reserved

Is Titanium Dioxide & mica safe?

Titanium dioxide and mica are generally thought to be safe, but some health concerns such as heavy metals, nanotechnology and overall safety has been questioned. Mica and Titanium Dioxide comes from the earth and it may contain trace amounts of heavy metals (click) but the levels are regulated by the FDA, and the small amounts that may eventually be in cosmetic or personal care products do not pose a risk to human health.

European union states that nanomaterial that gives a cosmetic product useful properties, can also pose a risk to the consumer (click). This is why from 2013 in European union companies need to specify if they use nanotehcnology by adding (nano) on the ingredients list. It's good to remember that the field of nanomaterial risk assessment is still evolving.

Titanium dioxide dust, when inhaled, has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as an IARC Group 2B carcinogen, meaning it is possibly carcinogenic to humans. (click) But used on the skin Titanium Dioxide should be safe as it has been extensively evaluated and the scientific data shows that they do not penetrate the skin. (click)

The positive stuff?

For some people mineral makeup is great as it usually doesn't have classic irritants like fragrances, binders, synthetic dyes, and preservatives. Some people who suffer from eczema or skin irritation says that mineral makeups are so much better for their skin. It should always be remembered that not all products suit everybody and only trying different product you can find what actually suits your skin.

Should we buy them?

So should you buy mineral cosmetics? In my opinion I would buy mineral makeup as I would buy drugstore makeup - I don't see too much difference. I think that the risk around using mineral makeup are not so much different from using drugstore makeup as most of the mineral makeup brands do not use nanoparticles and if you don't generally inhale the powder in my opinion everything should be fine. Only thing what I don't like is how mineral makeup brands advertise their products safer and better than normal makeup.

What is your opinion? Have you used mineral makeup?

Disclaimer - I'm not scientist or expert in this area, this post is my own opinion and information I found from many online resources and put together. Also cosmetic industry is evolving all the time the facts stated today might be proven wrong in the future. If you know more about the subject or if some of my facts are wrong please email me or  leave a comment below.