The Different Roles of Makeup Minerals

by vic on August 8, 2009

Makeup minerals can be confusing. With all the news coverage in the past year everyone has been looking for natural minerals. Being natural makeup minerals does not mean that they will work very good. Some of the most well known are ineffective. At worst, they can cause serious difficulties.

Naturally, you want to get as much as you can from the minerals in your makeup. However, they may not want to switch over to mineral makeup entirely. Maybe earth minerals is what they need. Or are the only looking for the anti-aging benefits? Or maybe they just want to avoid makeup minerals that can cause problems.

Your really need to understand the minerals in your makeup. See below for a short list of makeup minerals. You will understand your makeup’s contents after reading this.

Zinc and zinc oxide
These are common in pure mineral products. These minerals are natural sunscreens. They also can smooth out your features and hide wrinkles. In pure forms, they do not irritate skin.

Titanium dioxide
In pure mineral makeup, this is a very popular ingredient. It will smooth out flaws in your complexion. When added to mineral makeup, it has also been know to help alleviate acne and rosacea. Watch out for imitation ingredients as they will result in the makeup being less hypoallergenic.

Mica
The anti-aging element in mineral makeup is Mica. It has the ability to cast the light out of wrinkles. It also deflects attention from irregularity. Just so you don’t appear to be wearing glitter, the mica in mineral makeup is ground up super fine. You can also find it in many non-mineral makeup anti-aging and camouflaging products.

Bismuth
Bismuth has long been a very controversial mineral. This mineral is also naturally occuring. However, it has to be processed to be used in mineral makeup. This is not an easy mineral to just grind into powder. There are some that say it should not even be an earth mineral. Many people like it because of the fresh “glow” you get. Itching is a side effect that can result if you have sensitive skin or tend to sweat.

Talc
One of the most often used minerals is talc. It has played a major role in cosmetics since before written history. Talc is a mineral that people can be allergic to. Its main role is as a filler. If you use common makeups, then you are definitely using some talc. Pure mineral makeup products often exclude talc even though it is a legitimate makeup mineral because it is a common allergen.