COSMETICS AND BATHROOM PRODUCTS:F ACE POWDER

F ACE POWDER

Ancient Greek and Roman women developed the beauty treatment of using white lead and mercury on faces to achieve a chalky complexion. This was a dangerous practice, as these heavy metals were subsequently absorbed through the skin and resulted in many deaths. While early physicians recognized this practice as a problem, the European Middle Ages followed the Greco-Roman trend of achieving smooth complexions and pale whitened faces with the use of lead (usually a composite of carbon- ate, hydroxide, and lead oxide). To fight the destructive effects of lead applied on the face, masks were synthesized using ground asparagus root and goat’s milk. Fashionable sixth-century noblewomen would often achieve a pale look by bleeding themselves. Women of the Italian Renaissance also continued the use of destructive lead paint on their faces, necks, and cleavage. In Elizabethan England, women still used white lead face paint, and the lead was mixed with vinegar to form a paste called ceruse. The white lead made hair fall out, and the extensive use of ceruse throughout the Elizabethan era is linked to the presence of the fashion- able high foreheads as hairlines receded. The use of lead-based ceruse on complexions continued throughout the reign of Charles I. While Victorians avoided the use of almost all makeup, at the turn of the nineteenth century, when makeup regained acceptance, zinc oxide was discovered to make a good face powder that did not harm the skin.

Modern face powders are designed to provide a smooth complexion, diminishing the glossy shine that results from the accumulation of sebum and perspiration. They also may add an agreeable coloration, texture, and odor to the skin without drawing attention to their own presence as a makeup. The properties of a good face powder include covering power, adhesiveness, absorption, matte effect, and slip (application smoothness lacking drag). The bulk (by percentage of weight) primary texturing con- sistency of a face powder is usually attributable to components such as talc (magnesium silicate), kaolin (clay), or mica (silicate minerals). Secondary components added may include materials such as zinc oxide (zincite mineral), calcium carbonate (chalk; limestone salt), titanium dioxide (white opaque powder), or cornstarch. These secondary components may pro- vide additional skin protection, cover, and oil-absorption properties to the product. Compact or pressed face powders are wet by binders and emol- lients that also increase application ease and might include mineral oil, nylon-12 (petrochemical), dimethicone (silicone), glycerin, lauroyl lysine, or phenyl trimethicone. In addition, lubricants (e.g., octyldodecanol stearoyl stearate), texturizers (e.g., magnesium stearate, zinc stearate), binders (e.g., calcium silicate, cetyl alcohol), softeners (e.g., lanolin), preservatives (e.g., methylparaben, propylparaben, imidazolidinyl urea), antioxidant mois- turizers (e.g., retinyl [vitamin A] palmitate, tocopheryl [vitamin E] ace- tate, ascorbyl palmitate), texture enhancers (e.g., silica), and color pigments (e.g., iron oxides, ultramarines, D&C and FD&C Lake colors, green ox- ides and hydroxides, carmine) are often added. Specialized product characteristics are achieved with the addition of chemicals such as boron nitride (white graphite, which provides a silky luxurious feel with increased product wear and spreadability) or bismuth oxychloride (skin protective salt, which allows for a frosty “pearlescent” product appearance).