 Ever wondered what the ingredients: +/- CI 77891, 77491, 77492, 77007 actually mean in your makeup products!? Where does the stuff we put on our faces every day actually come from!? Are there better alternatives and is natural always best!? How do we make sense of hard to pronounce ingredients!? Our future blogs and articles we will be discussing these topics in more detail:
Get ready for some amazing and insightful information! (That could potentially make you look like a genius on your next zoom quiz or amongst your friends in the world of beauty!) At Root Minerals we believe knowledge is power! The power to help you make better, kinder and more informed choices! These deeper insights will help you select better products on the market and avoid falling for all the nonsense and confusion that brands use to advertise and trick y’all! So let’s explore a very common ingredient found in your favourite makeup brands called Iron Oxide! (aka Fe02) What are Iron Oxides? Put simply they are colorants that have been used ever since early humans began painting on the walls of caves! Over time Sedimentary rocks rich in Iron start to oxidise and we are left with a formation of colours from silver and black to red, yellow, brown and olive greens! On our travels, we just happened to stumble across these geological wonders and below are some pictures we took on our vacation to Mauritius (Right) and the Isle of Wight (Left) a time before Covid-19 and lockdowns! It’s funny where the makeup on your face actually starts out! Nature truly is beautiful.
They are also used to improve the colour and appearance of our cosmetics and skincare products. From creams and foundations to lipstick, eye shadow, mascara and beyond! There are many commercial applications (e.g. paint colour enhancement) and also interestingly sustainability solutions around minimising waste across industries such as glass, paper, rubber, plastic and textiles.
Fun Fact It has been said that the artist Giorgio Vasari used earth colours (Sienna, Ochre and Umber) for his painting in Florence at the Palazzo Vecchio! So not just cavemen and cavewomen painting walls, we took it one step further and have been painting our faces! Sweat Resistance Besides being extremely stable, Iron Oxides have many wonderful properties. For example its moisture resistant quality helps achieve a high level of sweat resistance in our mineral foundation powder! Perfect for the gym as it doesn’t clog your pores and lets the skin breathe! Perfect for all you gym bunnies and people leading active lives. Staying Power and Shelf Life! Another great property is its staying power which helps our organically infused lipsticks last all day with minimal touch ups. So in essence you get an amazing quality lipstick with a better shelf life. Now what’s not to love about that!? Incredible depth of colour Sourcing the best quality raw ingredients helps us create those super pigments we are well known and loved for! Combining this and other ingredients in the right way, create a powerful synergy however bold you wish to be! Here is short video mixing the shade Tropical Waters from Root Minerals! (https://www.instagram.com/p/CPP3nkqH5GL/) The Sciency Bit!! Without Iron, we would have NO natural earth pigments! By just combining a few additional minerals (like calcium, carbon, manganese etc…) with air and water you could pretty much get any colour of the rainbow! From grassy greens to earthy browns and warm yellows to burnt reds and even blue. Although there are only around 16 Iron Oxides, 3 are considered the main ones:
To start with CI stands for Colour Index. CI 77891 is Titanium Dioxide (Tio2) which we will explain later (in another blog so stay tuned!) Where on “Earth” do they come from!? Red (CI 77491), Yellow (CI 77492), Black (CI 77499) and Blue (CI 77007) which we will explore further...
Avoid CI 75470 which is Carmine usually extracted from insects. Also known as Natural Red 4, Cochineal, Carminic Acid and E120. It is used because it is extremely stable and holds up against heat and light which is a key issue causing product failure like your lipsticks pigment fading. Essentially it comes from these 5mm bugs that usually chill on cactus plants. The actual red colour comes from when they are crushed from Carminic Acid. Which makes up 25% of the insects weight! Makes us sad just thinking about it. Alternatives to Carmine We love our plant based makeup at Root Minerals! Berries and vegetables like blackberries and beetroot are excellent alternatives. However, more process and effort is required to ensure consistency and staying power. It’s no wonder why some companies choose this simpler, cheaper and more easy way. As they produce huge volumes, massive costs are saved. Are Iron Oxides Safe? They have extremely gentle properties making these ingredients perfect for sensitive skin and problem skin such as acne, psoriasis and rosacea. Dangers of Nano-Particles In summary they are extremely small particles that can enter the body through the skin into the blood stream causing a variety of health issues. This is why at Root Minerals we using only the highest quality raw ingredients that are free from chemicals and toxic materials and never use nanoparticles. Can Iron Oxides Cause Cancer? Some research even suggests links to cancer! Always keep in mind that some products out there start of topical, but can enter the body and there is not enough research to show long term implications. These are important things to think about when choosing products, especially if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. Regulations are in place for specifically for cosmetic use. (Please see references and sources at the end) What Are The Uses Of Iron Oxides? As they function as colorants, it is essential for any face makeup as the pigment helps us achieve those perfect true to skin foundation shades we have. Matching skin tones for every skin type and undertone is paramount to us, which is why we have over 36 shades! If you fancy finding out what your undertone is and finding your perfect mineral foundation powder match then “click here” (link to foundation finder tool) Which Is Better? (Natural VS Synthetic) Synthetic pigments are made under controlled conditions. Which allows the shape and particle size to become much more superior (not always a great thing and many known brands do not disclose or make the information public! It is hard to know which companies out there to trust as new technology has allowed for the use Nanoparticles which can enter the blood stream causing a whole bunch of issues as we know! A side note: We believe more research should be done in this field and for now will NEVER use nanoparticles until proven otherwise. Root Minerals is compliant with EU Cosmetic Safety Directive (76/768/EEC) & the new EU Safety Directive of 1223/2009 which has taken effect as of July 2013. Upcoming articles and blogs: Stay tuned for our next article and blog where we will speak about the minerals foundation ingredients: MICA, Zinc Oxide, Kaolin, Magnesium Stearate, Boron Nitride and more!
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