Mica: All that Glitters is not Gold?

I had high hopes of producing some glittery skin care projects for Christmas and sharing the recipes with you here. I ran into a couple snags…

1. I ordered “gold, all-natural, cosmetic grade mica” from an Ebay merchant because I didn’t want to pay the $15 shipping charge from my regular supplier for such a small purchase. The gold mica I received was actually gold mica, as described, but it was also blended with titanium dioxide, which wasn’t mentioned in the description. While it still matched the “all-natural” claim, titanium dioxide leaves the skin white when used in a skin care product. LESSON LEARNED? Watch your sources for your cosmetic ingredient supplies.

2. Next, I ordered gold mica from GloryBee. It’s not cheap, but I figured it was worth the try. What I didn’t expect was how extremely fine the powder is. Sneeze and the room turns into a snow globe of gold dust. (I’ll save some of the mica I bought to make a DIY snow globe ornament next year). LESSON LEARNED? Beauty is both expensive… and messy.

3. Onward to the recipes. Up first was the “add to lip balm” test. It was a beautiful process. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dChmb3LEVY8

The problem? It didn’t leave much glitter on the lips. Some, but not enough to be noticed.

Next was the “add to lotion bar” test. Again, absolutely beautiful. As for the glittery addition to the skin? Still not very noticeable, though it would still make a nice gift. It worked better if I dipped the lotion bar in the glitter, especially for the product’s presentation. As for some added glitter to the face, I just swiped my finger in the mica and applied it to the eye lids and cheek bones and that alone did the job. I didn’t need any lotion or moisturizer to keep the mica on; my natural face oil was enough, and so was my 12 year old daughter’s.

Finally, I made up some homemade hair spray and added the glitter. It was a beautiful combination but the mica eventually clogged the spray bottle. Then the glitter spray that did get applied to the hair was faint and not very obvious. It could be because my hair, and my daughter’s hair, are both blonde and brown respectively, so silver glitter may have shown up better than gold. In the end, I sprayed the hair spray, and then sprinkled on the mica. Then it was pretty.

LESSON LEARNED? Better to add the mica directly to the skin or hair for the glitter look.

4. Then came the “Is Mica Safe?” question. Checking in with the Cosmetic Database first, I found that mica earned a score of “2” which is good, but the amount of data they had on it was fair, meaning there wasn’t enough research to prove one way or the other. It does pass FDA’s test as being safe for cosmetic use. Ask Dr. Oz, though, and he claims it’s unsafe. Several other bloggers are also posting their warnings, citing Dr. Oz as their source for their information. Why the unsafe claim? Apparently construction workers using products containing spackle that used mica would inhale the powder over a period of time and suffer from lung problems. I can see that this could be an issue if you have a snow globe of mica glitter all around you as you work with it, (all day long), but I would imagine a soapmaker takes a much larger risk in working with lye than a cosmetic maker would incorporating tiny amounts of mica into her products.

CAUTIONARY LESSON? 1.) Don’t inhale. 2.) The fine pixie dust around the eye could get into your eye and cause irritation. 3.) Your teenager daughter is likely responsible enough to use it, but keep it far, far away from your toddler. 🙂

My take on mica? If I were heading out to a New Year’s Party tonight, I might brush it on my face for a glitter effect. I may use it for next year’s homemade beeswax candles as an outer glitter for the finished candle. For cosmetics, until I hear otherwise, I’ll occasionally bring it out to play with, as I feel safe using it. For now, it seems far simpler to use mica in its pure form rather than attempt to mix into cosmetics or lotions.