First produced for a niche market in the mid 1970's, over 30 years later mineral makeup has taken the cosmetic industry by storm. It has a smooth flawless appearance and light texture but there is a lot more to these minerals than just looks.

How is mineral makeup different from traditional makeup?

Most non-mineral makeup products contain talc, synthetic dyes, fragrances, and preservatives and can be quite irritating and drying to the skin. Pharmaceutical grade mineral makeup contains no talc, parabens, synthetic dyes or fragrances. It only contains minerals and therefore is non-comedogenic, meaning that it will not clog your pores. True mineral makeup is made of crushed rocks or minerals so they have virtually no allergy risk, cannot harbor bacteria, and have natural anti-inflammatory properties due to the titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in the makeup. These attributes make it an ideal makeup for those who suffer from rosacea or acne or patients who have just undergone laser procedures or chemical peels. But what about the claims made by some companies that mineral makeup is so pure "you can sleep in it"? I would never tell someone to sleep in any kind of makeup. It's not a good idea for the skin to be covered at night, no matter how pure a makeup might be.

Mineral Makeup and Sun Protection

Another big draw to mineral makeup products are the claims of sun protection. With an average SPF rating of 15, some companies have the Skin Cancer Foundation seal of approval as a sunscreen. GloMinerals, Colorescience and other brands of mineral makeup have this protection due mostly to the high content of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide -- two ingredients commonly found in traditional sunscreen.

But does mineral makeup give you all the sun protection you need? No. You need to wear a sunscreen lotion under mineral make-up to have full protection. A dusting of mineral make-up mid-day is a good way to boost protection as the sunscreen you applied in the morning will start to break down and let's face it, most of us are not going to re-apply our lotion over our make-up mid-day. On the beach or at the pool, re-applying sunscreen is a must.

Mineral Makeup: Not All Alike

Since there is no set regulation for what constitutes a "mineral" makeup, any product containing minerals as a primary ingredient can be marketed as such -- even if it contains a lot of other "less natural" ingredients. Mineral makeup formulas generally fall into two large camps - those that take care not to use synthetics (like paraben preservatives and other fillers) and stay true to the original intent of pure mineral makeup, and those that do add the fillers, colors, binders, preservatives, and other chemicals to their formulas. Although you can weed out at least some of these brands by reading the ingredient label, do not let the term "all natural" or "all mineral formula" fool you. That's because within the brands that claim "pure mineral" formulations, there is still another category breakdown -- those that contain an arguably "natural" mineral known as bismuth oxycholoride, and those that do not.

A pearlizing agent that gives mineral makeup that candlelight glow, bismuth oxychloride is a mineral, but it's not found in the earth. Bismuth is a byproduct of lead and copper processing. Bismuth oxychloride is also frequently used to fill, "bulk up" or bind products, and some say it comes with a heavy price. Bismuth oxychloride is considered a skin irritant and can cause itching and rashes and in large amounts it can cause cystic acne as well - it's one of the ingredients you should try to avoid if you have acne or rosacea or sensitive skin.

For a full list of cosmetic ingredients and their effects on your skin and your health go to:

http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/learnnet/aflchem/resources/39/39%20resources/39-2%20database.pdf