Mica Safety Chart

Please refer to the below chart to locate the mica powders that are safe to use for your particular application. From Nature With Love provides this chart as a service to its customers. It is up to the customer to adequately research the appropriate use and safety information for each ingredient contained in the finished product, including any governmental regulations in place for proper usage, labeling and sale.

Key:
Y = Yes (Safe to Use For This Purpose)
N = No (Do Not Use For This Purpose)

Part 01: Guide to Creating Your Own Mineral Based Cosmetics
Introduction

It is relatively easy to begin making your own naturally based cosmetics. From Nature With Love's, 11 Part Guide to Making Your Own Mineral Based Cosmetics will provide the background information and recipes that you need to get started. The cost of quality ingredients is inexpensive, especially when you compare the costs to commercial cosmetics.

The concept of learning to create your own cosmetics is much like learning how to cook. In both fields, it is easy to get started with help, background information and a few simple recipes. Then, once you've mastered the basics, you can move forward with more difficult recipes and challenge yourself by creating your own recipes.

Part 02: The Many Advantages (and a Few Challenges) in Making Mineral Cosmetics

As consumers, we are becoming more alert to the ingredients that we put into and onto our bodies. Commercial cosmetics frequently contain a high ratio of chemically derived ingredients, and all too often, commercial cosmetics contain harsh preservatives.

Exploring the world of creating your own cosmetics offers a variety of advantages:

* Your handcrafted cosmetics will be of high quality yet cost less than their commercial counterparts.

* You have control of the ingredients included within the cosmetics that you make.

* You will know exactly when you created your cosmetics and can closely monitor their shelf life.

* Handcrafted cosmetics are typically gentler for your skin when properly formulated and used.

* You are able to customize your own shades to best suit your preferences and skin tone.

* You won't have to worry about your favorite commercial shade or product being discontinued.

* If desired, you can further pursue creating naturally based cosmetics for retail sale

The challenges that you will face when making your own cosmetics are as follows:

* Perfecting the exact color of your cosmetics

* Perfecting the consistency of your cosmetics

* Addressing the limited shelf life of your cosmetics


Perfecting the color and consistency of your cosmetics is a challenge, but can be one of the most rewarding aspects of formulating your own cosmetics. It is so pleasing to receive a compliment about your lip color or eye shadow colors and be able to remark that you made them yourself.

The most significant challenge in formulating your own cosmetics involves the limited shelf life of handcrafted cosmetics. Unless you add a preservative, your cosmetics will not have the same shelf life as their commercial counterparts. Most of us tend to keep and use our cosmetics until they run out instead of properly disposing of them after a few months. Even heavily preserved commercial cosmetics can become breeding grounds for bacteria because the cosmetics come into contact with our skin. Eye shadow and blusher brushes touch the powders, then gloss over our skin and carry bacteria and oils back to the powdered cosmetic the next time the brush contacts the powders. Mascara brushes touch our lashes and then go directly back into their tubes carrying the oils and bacteria from our lashes directly into the liquid mascara. When you create your own cosmetics, the shelf life is much more limited, but you can keep track of the date that you made them. Because they're less expensive to make, you can replenish your personal cosmetic apothecary with fresh new cosmetics. For more information, see the Shelf Life section of this guide.

Mica Powder (Uncolored)
Our FDA approved fine mica powder can be used in cosmetics to leave a soft shimmer on the skin or to lighten the Pearlescent Mica Powders.

Pearlescent Mica Powders
Mica is a group of silicate minerals that provide s shimmering appearance when ground into a very fine powder, and are easy to work with for creating eye shadows, blushers, lip colors and other cosmetics. Mica powders are available in a wide array of colors and are tinted with oxides and other colorants. Not all Pearlescent Mica Powders are safe to use in lip or eye products. Check the specific safety usage information for the micas that you wish to use in your formulations. You can create virtually any shade of mineral make-up by blending two or more micas. Other pigments and additives can be used to darken or lighten the colors.

Part 04: Necessary Equipment

Formulating your own natural cosmetics requires very little equipment. If you already have an adequately equipped kitchen, you have most of what you need Not all of the below equipment is required for each type of recipe. Refer to the recipes section of this article for the specific equipment required for the recipe.

* Bowls, Including Tiny Bowls
* Mortar and Pestle
* Small Spoons for Mixing
* Double Boiler
* Measuring Spoons
* Measuring Cups
* Pipettes

Visit From Nature With Love's Equipment section for a categorized selection of equipment that you may not already have on hand.

Tips:

When making cosmetics and especially when working with the colorants, we often work with minute sizes of ingredients. We recommend that you have a measuring spoon set on hand like From Nature With Love's Measuring Spoon Set that includes a 1/8 teaspoon size.

For smaller measurements, FNWL's .15 cc Scoops are especially handy.

If you experiment with very small batches, having a set that includes a 1/16 and 1/32 teaspoon size is ideal. Sometimes, you can find Smidgen, Pinch and Dash measuring spoon sets available at some kitchen stores:

* Smidgen = 1/32 teaspoon
* Pinch = 1/16 teaspoon
* Dash = 1/8 teaspoon