If someone does not believe they need to be concerned about applying petroleum dyes to their face and eyes, this post will not be relevant to them. If you are like me and are actively trying to avoid synthetic dyes and titanium dioxide but you use makeup containing mica or silica, it’s impossible. Mica from the earth is called muscovite and is naturally coloured from transparent to gold to light brown and greenish. The reason you see all types of brightly coloured mica is because of titanium dioxide + petroleum dyes. I think that the way mica is manufactured should be 100% transparent, just like how our clothes and sheets are made. What we apply to our skin day and night long term is so important. A significant percentage is absorbed into our blood stream and has the ability to cross the blood brain barrier. Sometimes one synthetic chemical on it’s own may not be singificantly harmful or a common irritant but when it is mixed with one or more other chemicals, that is when you would want to be more careful. An example of this is a formula containing citric acid. Citric acid is a common ingredient in food, skincare, haircare, and cosmetics. Also, a common preservative in these same formulas is sodium benzoate. When citric acid or ascorbic acid (vitamin c) is combined with sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, benzene—a known carcinogen—can form under certain conditions, such as exposure to heat and light. This reaction is most commonly associated with soft drinks and other preserved beverages. Citric acid alone does not directly cause the formation of benzene when mixed with benzoates, but it may accelerate the reaction if ascorbic acid is also present. Benzene exposure has been linked to blood cancers like leukemia.
ignorance is bliss?
mica is the trojan horse
bright red colours attract the consumer because colour is emoition, it’s a pick-me-up! Often when I am customizing a colour for a client, I have to let them know that I cannot clone the discontinued shades they want me to match if they are coloured with mica, because they are actually coloured with petroleum dyes and titanium dioxide. There is a reason why titanium dioxide and petroleum dyes are so needed. They create the most potent colours. They are used in sunless tanning products because they can actually stain the skin for days. Titanium dioxide is the main ingredient in paint because it has a strong white tone that cannot be matched. It’s like white-out for your face, body, house, and vehicles. Mica actually helps to dilute the titanium dioxide. And vice versa, just colouring the mica with only petroleum dyes would not produce enough variety of dark to light colours of mica.
natural mica is mostly beige
Both synthetically made mica and natural muscovite mica from the earth are very natural in colour. So even the brightly coloured soaps that contain mica are coloured with mica that has been coloured with brightly coloured pretroleum dyes mixed with titanium dioxide. I think petroleum dyes and titanium dioxide should then be listed in the ingredients – don’t you? This formulator reinforces this hidden truth with a visible show-and-tell of what mica looks like pre-dyed and after:
So no, mica is not naturally a rainbow of bright and intensely dark colors when it is mined. Its natural colors are typically earthy tones, such as silver, gold, brown, green, grey, rose, or white. To achieve vibrant rainbow-like colors, mica is coated with materials like titanium dioxide and synthetic dyes after mining. This process enhances its shimmer and creates the bright hues seen in cosmetics and other products. From a business model stand point, it makes sense to make mica as brightly coloured and have the most range of colour possible. And this business model seems to work because titanium dioxide and mica is in everything. However, those who just tell you and I to ‘trust the science’. I did. I became very sick and after years of trusting the science I stopped trusting the science and started trusting my own intuition and doing my own research. It was then that I started to finally feel better and heal. Often those who are most at risk are the workers who are doing the hard labour. I am referring to those working in these third party cosmetic labs and those who are dying the mica and possibly inhaling the raw materials. Because I am working with the raw materials to make products just like they are, they are always on my mind. Being exposed to something short term may not have significant side effects but long term could pose signifcant risks to health. As I have said in so many previous posts, what is put into making our food and cosmetics and fabrics needs to be 100% transparent so that we can make informed decisions for ourselves and for our families and pets.
Also, now that I have mentioned pets, I want to add that there is a difference between a finshed makeup product being cruelty free and a single ingredient not being tested on animals:
