Aug. 06, 2024
Minerals & Metallurgy
If you&#;ve ever gravitated towards a product that promised to make your skin sparkle or glow, chances are it had mica powder in it.
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In fact, even if you&#;ve never been much of a makeup buff, you&#;ve probably still come in contact with the ingredient via your shampoo or shaving cream. It&#;s probably in your foundation, as well as your toaster and car paint.
In recent years, mica has become controversial because child labor may be used in its mining process. Although some beauty companies are working towards sourcing the ingredient ethically, finding alternatives isn&#;t so easy for those looking to avoid it altogether.
Mica is used to thicken and add shimmer to the following beauty products:
What Is Mica Powder?
Mica is the name of a group of minerals that come from sheet silicate. There are 37 types and can be found in granite, slate, phyllite, and shale.
Mica powder is lightweight and flexible. It&#;s resistant to heat, which makes it a favorite material for the electronic industry. However, it&#;s the pearly luster of its flakes that make it popular in cosmetics and skin care products.
It&#;s primarily used as a colorant but is also a mild abrasive, as well as a thickening and smoothing agent. Mica is naturally reflective and the reason why highlighter &#;lights&#; up brow bones and eyeshadow sparkles.
Beauty chemists combine it with other ingredients to create different effects. Smaller bits can be added to powders to create a smoother but illuminating finish.
If you check out the ingredient list of your lipstick or body bronzer, you may find it listed as:
Synthetic Mica vs. Natural Mica
While natural mica powder comes from rocks, synthetic mica is made in a lab. It&#;s also known as synthetic fluorphlogopite, and is created from magnesium aluminum silicate sheets.
The process includes melting manganese, metal, and aluminum, and then cooling to produce a crystal. From there it can be ground into a powder.
One of the benefits of using synthetic mica, according to companies like Lush, is that it&#;s purer and can achieve brighter colors because of its particle size. Organic mica is not as refined.
Synthetic mica may appear in ingredients lists under the following names:
According to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database, neither ingredient is considered environmentally toxic or harmful to the body. However, information regarding synthetic mica is limited, and according to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the dust from natural mica powder has been shown to cause respiratory issues in workers.
One huge benefit of synthetic mica is that it side-steps the need for mining altogether. A investigation by the Thompson Reuters Foundation revealed that several children were killed while working in illegal mica mines in India. The use of child labor in the extraction of the mineral has led to more companies opting to use its synthetic counterpart.
How Is Mica Powder Produced?
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According to a report from Zion Market Research, the global mica market is expected to reach $727 million by . There are two divisions of the industry: flake mica mining and sheet mica mining.
Flake mining largely serves the electronic, rubber, and construction industry. Once extracted from placer deposits and pegmatites, mica is ground and used as a pigment extender for paint, filler, and reinforcing agent. There are mines across the U.S., half of them being in North Carolina.
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Sheet mica is the mineral of choice for cosmetic companies. It&#;s gathered through open-pit surface mining. There are mines throughout the world, including China, Brazil, and Madagascar. The beauty industry heavily relies on mica from India, which exported $71.3 million worth of the mineral in .
According to the investigation from the Thompson Reuters Foundation, 70% of the mines operating in India are illegal. There are mines in Andhra, Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
Bihar and Jharkhand are part of what is sometimes referred to as the &#;mica belt.&#; It&#;s a region that&#;s home to mines that often employ children who are small enough to fit into cave openings. According to a survey from India&#;s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, some of the children working in the mines are as young as six.
Work is labor-intensive, requiring miners to move down narrow tunnels that sometimes collapse. In non-commercial settings, mica is separated from the rock by hand with the use of pry bars and hammers.
Injuries and deaths are not often reported by workers or families. Many mines are located in impoverished areas, where collecting mica is the main source of income.
One of the drivers of illegal mining in India is the country's Forest Conservation Act. Many of India&#;s mines are located in protected forests, making it difficult for legal leases to be acquired. This has led villages to collect mica from abandoned mines in the area.
While the mica belt has received the brunt of attention from child welfare advocates, a report from Terre des hommes showed similar practices happening in Pakistan, Sudan, China, and Brazil.
Most recently, attention has been on mica mining in Madagascar. It&#;s reported that 10,000 children there are miners.
Is Mica Powder Sustainable?
Natural mica is not renewable, making sustainability complicated. While electronics containing mica can be recycled and reused, the same cannot be said for body washes or beauty products.
While there hasn&#;t been a ton of research on the environmental impact of mica mining specifically, the mining industry has been shown to be disruptive to ecosystems. Some of the potential impacts of mining include deforestation, contamination of local water, dust emissions, and increased noise pollution.
From an environmental and sustainability perspective, synthetic mica may be more friendly&#;and it doesn't put children at risk. However, other industries haven&#;t been able to utilize synthetic mica the way that the cosmetic industry has.
Although synthetic mica may be more sustainable to produce, it&#;s not as affordable as natural mica. It&#;s also manufactured in China and Japan, meaning it still needs to be exported to other parts of the globe.
Can Mica Powder Be Ethically Sourced?
With child exploitation being common, natural mica powder is not the most ethical ingredient. However, completely stopping mining may create other problems, as it is often the sole source of income for families in production areas.
Since the incidence of child labor has been exposed, more beauty companies have taken concrete steps to source the ingredient ethically. Companies like Chanel, Burts Bee's, Coty, and Sephora have become members of the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI), an organization working to create responsible (and traceable) mica chains. Its goals are to end child labor and create work environments that follow legal mandates. Other companies have decided to rely on synthetic mica.
Mica is a term that represents all 34 silicate minerals, ranging in colors from silver to purple, and even black. The color of mica is dependent on the specific rock that it is derived from.
To produce mica powder, the silicate minerals are removed from the stone and ground into a powder that resembles very fine glitter. From there, it is ready to be used in a variety of products and acts as a coloring agent or pigment.
Pigment powders are finely ground colors that resemble colored chalk and are used to add pigment to a product. Pigment refers to the actual colors themselves and have names, such as Ultramarine Blue or Cadmium Red. While pigment powders can be produced from mica powder, not all of them are. In fact, some are produced with synthetic ingredients and often have names like Pigment Red 101.
What differentiates mica powder from pigment powders is that mica powders are always made from organic materials and do not contain any synthetic coloring or additives. In recent years, mica powder has been classed as a pigment powder, but not all pigment powders contain mica.
When searching for a naturally pigmented product, look for names such as Ultramarine Blue instead of Pigment Blue 15. This means the natural pigments are much safer, especially when used in products that are applied to the skin.
Mica is used to give makeup, such as eyeshadow, its sparkle, and shine. It can have different properties depending on the specific rock it is derived from and how it is processed.
For example, to give mica an earthy, golden color, iron dioxide is added. Covering mica in titanium dioxide allows it to reflect all colors of the rainbow.
Even the size of the particles makes a difference. Larger particles produce a glittery effect, while smaller particles produce a sheen finish.
Mica is safe for nearly all skin types and can even be applied topically to the eyes and lips. Mica should only be a concern to individuals with sensitive skin as it can cause minor irritation. Because mica is essentially made from crushed rock, it can have microscopic edges that cause micro-tears when applied to the skin in a buffing motion, such as applying foundation.
For these reasons, bellapierre ensures that all the mica powders used in its products are ground to the finest consistency so that it does not cause skin irritation and produces a beautiful, flawless look. In fact, many of the products that bellapierre produces are hypoallergenic and safe for all skin types.
Try bellapierre mineral makeup for yourself today and experience the true beauty that nature has to offer.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Mica Powder for Building. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
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