Powder-Based Products: What Do I Need to Know?

Powder Based Products

Powder Based Cosmetics
This post is part seven of my nine part series. I decided I am going to post some other topics later. Making it now a nine part series. Like the title suggests we are going to be talking about powder cosmetics. Powder products are relatively simple to make. There will also be a recipe at the end. (It is one of my favorites!)

These are the types of powder cosmetics. In terms of cosmetics as a whole, there is a lot of them.
Powder Products:

• Baby Powder

• Dry Shampoo

• Powder to Foam Cleansers ;)

• Powdered Sunscreen

• Mineral Makeup

• Loose Highlighter

• Loose Blush

• Loose Bronzer

• Loose Contour

• Loose Powder

• Setting Powder

• Mattifying Powder

• Eye shadow

• Powdered masks

• And much more . . .

These are all products that the main medium or delivery system is a powder. As you can see a lot of the products are makeup. This is because we are diluting pigments and adding ore properties like slip, adhesion and moisture absorbers. Straight pigment is not desirable.
Why powder?
Powders are generally a mixture of several different ingredients that contribute to the powders unique formula. Dry Shampoos general have lots of moisture absorbers to get rid of grease. The con is that it makes the hair look unnaturally matte. So oil can be added (which may defeat the purpose) or color with some light reflecting properties to give some shine. Like any product there is lots of trial and error. Especially, in cosmetics, wear test come into play. This allows a person to figure out how long it will last on someone. I would recommend to have a couple people try it after, you are happy with the formula and the wear time on you. Now let's talk about the properties.
Categories of powders
There are many categories that powders can fall into. Some categories are used more for makeup and others are more for skincare. So, I will explain the functions of powder and I will give examples of ingredients used. I will include a nice table for your to write down or just use as reference.
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• Diluents : are used, as the name implies, to dilute the other ingredients in the formula. These ingredients, for the most part, make the majority of the formulation. They normally they have more than one function.

• Adhesion: contribute to the staying power. The ability to stay on the skin, eyelid, lip, or body.

• Binders: Help ingredients stick together. Manly used for pressing powders. Can also be a liquid.

• Creaminess/Slip: helps with spread ability. Results in a powder that is creamy and blends well. Also helps with glide, so that it does not skid across the skin. Too much, leads to a products with little staying power and may be sheer.

• Opacity: Used to give color payoff. May make it lighter.

• Light Refracting Properties: meaning that it bounces back light. To create a filter. Essentially a real-life airbrushing filter. This also include mica.

• Color: adds different hues. Can be Iron oxides, Lake Dyes and Mica. Mica gives a shimmery look. Whereas the iron oxides and lake dyes provide a matte finish.

• Moisture Absorbers: Help control moisture and oil. Majority of them are the diluents. Used in mattifying powders and dry shampoo.

• Actives: Just like skincare, there are actives that can be added to products to add additional benefits.

There is the list of the different functions a certain powder can have. With that we are going to talk about the way you can use certain ingredients to create innovative products for your friends and family or for your costumers

Innovative was to use powders:
One of the ways is to create powder to foam cleansers. (more on this later :)) It is a different delivery of the surfactant instead of the typical liquid.
The other way is to make a powdered masks with the inclusion of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is stable when it is not exposed to water and direct sunlight. The mask will be made and then after the 20 minutes be wash off. So the inclusion of preservatives are not needed and the L-ascorbic acid (which is much more effective and cheaper) without the question of stability.

Equipment & Safety
For the most part a coffee grinder will be needed to mix up powders. Most of them are around $20. It is essential if you want to make any matte eyeshadows.
Any powder you use make sure to have a dust mask on. ESPECIALLY WITH SURFANCTANTS! :) If your lungs feel like they are in fire form the surfactant then stop what you are doing and get some fresh air.
Never submerge your coffee grinder into water.
To clean it out grinder add around a 1/2 a cup of rice. You may need to do this a couple of times
I also recommend getting a medium sized makeup brush form the dollar store. It will help for wiping out powders.

Let's Get Making
Now the fun part, the recipe. This is a super easy recipe to make and is very effective. I have noticed that when I use it consistently my skin clears up. It is very cleansing so, I recommend following up with a moisturizer. The surfactant works like any other surfactant. It cleans all the dirt, oil and makeup and is easily washed away with water.
The Ingredients:
The SCI is a great natural surfactant that is coconut-derived. The Kaolin clay offers oil absorption. And the Charcoal is detoxifying. Because there are no oils and no water, there is no need for antioxidants or a preservative. This project will get messy so cover your work surface with paper towels. Grab your gloves, coffee grinder and your dust mask and let's get started.

The formulation has been removed, I do not recommend it for beginners.