Can Mineral Makeup Cause Harm To Your Skin?

I found an article at Savvy Skin ( Hi, Jenny! ) about mineral makeup being bad for your skin.
Well, this is a mineral makeup blog, and we might as well tackle the good and bad points about mineral makeup, right?

The good thing about mineral makeup is that it is devoid of harsh chemicals and preservatives that stress the skin more, clog pores, and aggravate acne or any skin condition. Of course, we would prefer natural products to be applied on the skin, and mineral makeup is the closest thing to natural because it has no chemicals and preservatives.

But then, there are other mineral makeup products out there that still have preservatives, and chemicals. And, I don’t deny that there are other people who react to mineral makeup negatively - their skin, that is.

Two reasons I have discovered. #1 - Bismuth oxychloride. Even if this is one of the most widely used ingredients in makeup, there are people who are okay with this ingredient with no reactions whatsoever ( that swear by Bare Escentuals and Jane Iredale, who have Bismuth Oxychloride ), there are those who itch slightly when the weather’s hot, and there are the unfortunate some who breakout heavily because of the ingredient. Mineral makeup addict Nikki’s mom had a bad encounter with bismuth-oxychloride based mineral makeup and her face went all red, as Nikki had to make her drink an antihistamine to get better.

Lesson? Check out samples first if it would your skin can tolerate bismuth oxychloride. Or if you are on the safer side, better yet, do a patch test first. Some still want to use mineral makeup with this ingredient because it gives them a pretty sheen on their face , and don’t react anyway.

Reason # 2. Mica. Some people who have avoided the ingredient bismuth oxychloride seemed to have found another reason to react - which is the ingredient, mica. I found out all about this as there was a mineral makeup brand that had alot of shades of foundation, and a friend of mine’s skin reacted to only one shade - the one that seemed to have shimmers, or mica. Sometimes, shimmery mica is added to the formulation of mineral foundation to give it some glow, or just to adjust the color. I have found out that some people broke out horribly with mica, too. But it is a very very small minority already, because almost all mineral makeup had mica in their formulation. A small minority seemed to be allergic to this ingredient, still. But it was rare already.

Solution? There are certain mineral makeup brands like Meow that have formulations without mica for the most sensitive skin.

To sum up, Jenny’s article was a very good one that she pointed out the pros and cons of mineral makeup. She pointed out points from her research about potential pore clogging ingredients and such. It is best to check the ingredients on the back of the label for the discriminating buyer to ensure that you don’t see any ingredients on the label that don’t sound natural, if you are really keen on wanting to try the purest form of makeup available.

In my experience, with my research, I felt more connection with mineral makeup with regards to my experience rather than literature. There are some points wherein I could not just reason out by writing, or typing in by presenting scientific proofs, but I could definitely show by just applying mineral makeup. It’s been a year since I’ve turned back on traditional makeup, and went to the “dark side” and fully converted to mineral makeup, and I’ve never been this happy.

No one would believe that I had skin problems with the amazing coverage it gave me that it just looked like second skin. I could layer mineral foundation and still make it look as if it was just my skin, only better. I got to save alot by investing in mineral eyeshadow samples and blushes. My eyeliner won’t give me panda-eyes anymore because I found the joy of applying mineral eyeliners coupled with sealants. My skin was extremely photogenic thanks to the silica-based finishing powders I use. In other words, my skin is very very happy with mineral makeup, and I bet there are alot of people whose lives have changed because of it. Better self esteem, more smiles, and more reasons to wake up everyday to tinker with their makeup kits!