Safe, natural pigment powders

Are you looking for natural pigment powders without the pointless fillers and potentially harmful ingredients? Look no further...

If you look at the ingredients of the vast majority of eyeshadows and similar pigment powders, you'll see that the actual pigments tend to be listed after a lot of filler ingredients. Since ingredients are listed in order of the amount that is included i.e. the higher up the list, then more of that ingredient is in the product, you can clearly see that the fillers dominate the formulation. We've spoken elsewhere in this blog about the potentially toxic nature of talc, the most common filler used in eyeshadows, so not only are these fillers a way to save the company money (a saving they rarely pass onto their customers), but they may actually be dangerous. 

As an example, here is an ingredient list from an eyeshadow made by a well-known international brand: 
Talc, Mica (CI 77891), Zinc Stearate, Tapioca Starch, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Silica, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Polypropylene, Dimethicone, Polybutene, Caprylyl glycol, Aqua (Water), Isononyl Isononanoate, Butyl Stearate, Hexylene Glycol, Lauroyl Lysine, Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Alumina, Kaolin, Boron Nitride, Bismuth Oxychloride, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium sorbate, Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Sodium Dehydroacetate, Calcium Aluminium  Borosilicate, Cellulose, Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510).

Now, unless you are a chemist, I confidently predict that you won't know what the majority of those ingredients are. So I have to ask, supposing you were wandering around a chemist's laboratory and you came across a vial of an unknown substance, would you happily pick it up and smear it all over your face? Probably not. So why are we happy to cover our faces in a chemical cocktail of ingredients we know nothing about, just because it's got a brand name slapped on it? 

Photo by Raghav Bhasin on Unsplash

​Of course, you might say that makeup products have undergone safety testing, so they must be OK. But are they? Look again at the ingredient list above. Two of the ingredients (talc and phenoxyethanol) are ones that I've already written articles on listing various associated health risks. And what about the rest? Polypropylene is a thermoplastic, so is hardly eco-friendly. Boron Nitride has been implicated in health concerns when the particles are airborne and inhaled, which seems likely to happen when applying an eyeshadow. Bismuth Oxychloride is known to cause severe allergies in some people. Many of these ingredients are synthetic esters or silicone-based polymers, which means your body may not process them as well as natural alternatives, and there are serious questions over biodegradability. These ingredients have also frequently been linked with allergies. Ferric Ferrocyanide isn't as scary as it sounds, since the cyanide is entirely bound to the iron, but nonetheless, this compound, better known as Prussian Blue, is subject to strict usage restrictions as it can be dangerous if ingested or absorbed. 

Then there are the pigments themselves. In all honesty, these are the only ingredients strictly needed in this product, bearing in mind its purpose is to add colour to the skin. And you'll have noticed that there are only four of these, out of a staggering 30 different ingredients. We've already mentioned Prussian Blue, so what about the other three? Well, mica has its own problems, which we'll be talking about in another article, but note that the other two colourants are entirely synthetic. You can tell by the CI numbers. All natural pigments start with the number 7, although in some cases these pigments may have been artificially created in a laboratory from natural minerals, as is generally the case with Prussian Blue. Lake colours such as the ones listed above have earned a host of bad press, as the resources linked below show. In particular, Blue 1 Lake scores very poorly on the Environmental Working Group's comprehensive cosmetic ingredient safety database, and Yellow 5 Lake is not much better. It's also worth bearing in mind that the rigorous safety testing data on cosmetic ingredients that has been published is generally based on poisoning rats and rabbits, which is hardly applicable to humans. ​

​So, what is the solution? Well, I've opted to use just nine ingredients in my Multi-Purpose Powders, so called because you can use them as eyeshadows, blushers, highlighters, bronzers, or whatever else takes your fancy. The nine ingredients are all pigments, so there are zero useless fillers, and by using them in combination, it is possible to make any colour you could wish for. The pigments I use are:

- Mica, sourced only from certified fair trade schemes that support vulnerable communities (more on this in another article) 
- Iron Oxide (three different kinds), sourced responsibly from European countries (mainly Austria, Germany and Spain) 
- Tin oxide, sourced from certified ethical suppliers 
- Ultramarine Blue, sourced responsibly from Germany 
- Manganese Violet, sourced responsibly from European countries 
- Chromium Oxide Green, synthesized from natural minerals 
- Titanium dioxide, sourced from certified ethical suppliers 

The natural pigments are bonded to mica to create a smooth powder that spreads evenly over the skin. You can use them neat on the skin, or for a more vibrant colour, use over a base of foundation and/or primer. ​

​Why not take a look at the different shades on offer? 

P.S. It may interest you to know that the eyeshadow used as an example above retails for £18 for a small (plastic) pot of undisclosed weight. I also seriously doubt you'll get anywhere asking the brand in question to design a new shade to match your special outfit. I'm happy to do just that, so feel free to get in touch. 

Resources: 
https://www.gloworganic.co.uk/blogs/green-beauty-world/ingredients-to-avoid-in-mineral-makeup 
https://goodguilt.com/beauty-wellness/pigments-in-cosmetics/ 
https://beautifekbeauty.com/blogs/hello-beautiful-blog/lake-colorants-exposed-how-dangerous-chemicals-are-lurking-in-your-lipstick 
https://www.plumescience.com/blogs/news/cosmetic-colorants-what-you-need-to-know 
https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/702409-CI_42090_FDC_Blue_No_1_or_DC_Blue_No_4_Aluminum_Lake/ 
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