What You Should Know About Common Makeup Minerals

Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 2:10 pm

Makeup minerals can be confusing. Because of all the media coverage everybody really wants to use natural mineral makeup. Being natural makeup minerals does not mean that they will work very good. Some of the most common are at best ineffectual. At worst, they can cause serious difficulties.

Many people want to get the most out of the minerals in their makeup. However, this type of makeup isn’t good for everybody and you may not want to switch over entirely. Maybe they just want earth minerals. Or maybe its just for the anti-aging benefits. Could be that they just want to stay away from potential problems minerals can cause.

You need to understand the ramifications of the mineral content of your makeup. Below you will find a concise list of makeup minerals. Your makeup’s ingredients will become more understandable to you.

• Zinc and zinc oxide
Pure mineral makeups usually contain these products. They also happen to be natural sunscreens. They will also be a great help in smoothing out your features while hiding wrinkles. The minerals are in pure form and will not irritate your skin.

• Titanium dioxide
This mineral is also very common in natural makeups. This particular mineral even smoothes out flaws in your complexion. If it is in mineral makeup, it may also help relieve acne and rosacea. However, it can also be mixed with artificial ingredients that may make the end result less hypoallergenic.

• Mica
The anti-aging mineral that is added to these natural makeups is Mica. It will actually reflect light away from your wrinkles. It averts the eyes away from your skin irregularities. The mica contained in pure mineral makeup is ground really fine so you won’t appear to be wearing glitter. This mineral is also located in many non-mineral and anti-aging products.

• Bismuth
Bismuth is a very contentious mineral. It is a natural mineral. But it has to be processed in order for it to be used in makeup. It is very hard to just grind this mineral into a powder. Some even claim that it should not even count as a pure mineral. Many use it because it creates a fresh glow on skin. If you sweat or have very sensitive skin this mineral will cause you to itch.

• Talc
One of the most often used minerals is talc. It has played a very large role in makeup since makeup was first used. However, many people are allergic to talc. Its main role is as a filler. Talc is in most all conventional makeups. Makeup minerals usually exclude this mineral, even though it is legitimate, due to it being a common alergen.