Tuesday 11 December 2012

Know Your Ingredients | Talc

I’m sorry I haven’t updated anything in my ‘KnowYour Ingredients’ Series for about 3 weeks but it is Christmas and I am a bit busy at the moment, especially as I have the 30 Lipsticks in 30 Days Challenge going on at the moment, but enough excuses, let’s get on with the post.
Talc or Talcum or Hydrous Magnesium Silicate if we are being scientific *grabs lab coat* is a soft naturally occurring mineral which is milled into a powder and used often in cosmetics. I think it would be safe to assume that every powder based eyeshadow, blush or foundation powder you own has talc in it, it is really just that popular an ingredient as it can be used as an absorbant, an anti-caking ingredient and also improve the feel of a product to the touch.

Is It Safe???


In the 1970’s when Talc contained Asbestos or traces of asbestos fibre then yes it was very dangerous to your health as Asbestos is toxic but nowadays all Cosmetics products which list Talc as a cosmetics ingredient have been screened to ensure that any tiny fibers of Asbestos or toxic metals can not be found in their products.

There is no concrete evidence linking Talc to any human illnesses (except allergic reactions) and there is no conclusive link between Talc and Cancer. There is a bit of a unease regarding talc as inhalation studies show that Talc can cause lung damage but when you consider that these tests where conducted on rats who had to inhale Talc for 6 – 48 hours, a ratio which is highly unusual for humans (well unless you plan to dunk your head in a bowl of talc powder and suffocate yourself in the process), the findings have to be taken with a grain of salt.