Minerals and Colorants
No one can really claim “all natural” when it comes to minerals or colorants such as oxides. They are naturally derived, but have gone thru a process to remove some of the “natural” ingredients that a person would never want to put on their skin.
Inorganic pigments may be derived from naturally occurring mineral sources, such as titanium dioxide or sericite mica. They may also be derived from a synthetic produced mineral source, such as ultramarine blue (kaolin clay and other additives fired at high temperatures to produce the color and then cleaned of the sulfer that results from this process)
When mined and in their natural state, often times iron oxides are combined with toxic metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury. Regulation by the FDA of oxides used in cosmetic colorants helps to assure the toxicity levels of the oxides have been reduced and are safe for the skin. The process of removing toxins and refining the oxides reduces the natural state to a naturally derived state.
Micas are created by a combination of sericite mica (uncolored mica) and pigments (oxides). This process reduces the potency of the pigment, creates a more translucent blend, and offers a rainbow of color variations.
It is this author’s opinion, drug and cosmetic (D&C) and Food Drug & Cosmetic (FC&C), although approved for use, should not be used in a mineral cosmetic blend. These colors are synthetically created and reduce the mineral blend to less than naturally derived.
This original article was written by Melanie McCullough, administrator, in July of 2006
on July 24th, 2009 at 5:48 p
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