What is Bismuth oxychloride and is it harmful to people?

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Bismuth oxychloride is a synthetically prepared white or nearly white amorphous or finely crystalline powder. In cosmetics and personal care products, Bismuth Oxychloride is used in the formulation of many products, including make-up, nail products, cleansing products, fragrances and hair coloring products.

Bismuth oxychloride is most popular for the silky effect that it provides to the mineral based cosmetics. Since it is an adhesive, it's useful to avoid the draggy and patchy effect of mineral makeup for dry skin. Lustrous crystalline form of bismuth oxychloride is used in various cosmetics like blushes, foundations, eyeshadow and all other color providing makeup products. It is the major ingredient that provides a kind of sheen to the mineral makeup. Another factor that makes bismuth oxychloride mineral makeup more popular, is its light reflecting property that helps you to conceal skin discoloration, wrinkles and black spots. It is the reason why some of the most leading brands of beauty products like Arbonne, Bare Escentuals, GLO Minerals, Sheer Cover, Youngblood, Laura Mercier, Neutragena, etc. contain bismuth oxychloride. Despite its various beautifying benefits, one cannot deny the fact that it is not an earth material. So, is bismuth oxychloride bad for skin? Let's find out.

Bismuth is a naturally occurring, brittle metal. Bismuth-containing compounds can be found in a number of applications: as a pigment (Bismuth Oxychloride) in cosmetics and personal care products, and in Over-The-Counter (OTC) medicines (bismuth subnitrate) such as some used to treat gastrointestinal problems. Because bismuth compounds come from the earth they may contain trace amounts of heavy metals. The levels of heavy metals in Bismuth Oxychloride are regulated by the FDA, and the small amounts that may eventually be in cosmetic or personal care products do not pose a risk to human health.
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