by Myra Roldan

Created on: July 24, 2007

Have you ever wondered how commercial brands of loose mineral makeup is made? Ever wonder what some of the ingredients are and why they are used? Stop wondering and start reading.

Mineral makeup sensation has almost saturated the market, threatening the sales of other commercial brands of cosmetics. It seems that even brand-name cosmetic lines with signature lines of makeup are looking to jump on the mineral makeup band wagon. Buyer Beware! Not all mineral makeup is created equal. Depending on the supplier of the materials used to create the mineral makeup, some products may be denser than others.

Then there is the question of the inorganic ingredients, like bismuth oxychloride, which are added to popular brands. Well now you can create your own mineral makeup and know exactly what is going into your product.

First you need to know what mineral makeup weights and conversions. There is volume and there is weight.

Volume: Equals the amount of space occupied by a three dimensional object (in this case mineral makeup) measured in cubic units (ounces, pounds, grams). In the case of mineral makeup the unit of measure are grams (i.e. 3 grams, 5 grams, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/16 tablespoon).

Weight: Is the actual product weight which is expressed in grams and ounces in the case of mineral makeup. This doesn't include the weight of the container. Since some of the ingredients used to create mineral makeup can be denser than others (depending on your supplier) you product could weight less but have a higher volume. (NOTE: if you are using a gram scale to measure your product, place an empty jar on the scale and use your TARE before weighing your product.)

There are different ingredients and tools you will need to get started. Next, I will provide a brief explanation of the ingredients we will use in the sample formula provided in this article. The ingredients you will need are:

Titanium dioxide: This is a natural mineral. It is readily mined in one of the purest forms, rutile beach sand, its non-irritating and provides full sun protection (SPF). It is used to aide our foundations in providing great full coverage with a weightless feel giving you a luminous glow. (No shine here ladies)

Zinc oxide: Similar to titanium dioxide is also a natural mineral. Helps give our foundations excellent coverage and protects your skin against damaging affects of ultra-violet sun rays. Should also be noted that zinc oxide has a calming effect on irritated skin.

Mica: Also found naturally on the earth's

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