Hi!
Two really great questions......
1)I recently read an article online about nanoparticles (finely milled) to the point where they in filtrate the blood stream. Are there any particles this small in your products?
2)I read on Jane Iredale's site that titanium doixide and zinc oxide can be 'man made'. Are your minerals mined or are they created in the lab?
I have used your mineral powder for quite some and recently tried Jane Iredale when I ran out. My Skin hated it!
Thanks for your time,
Christine

Christine, no, we do not use any ingredients that have been so finely milled they have been reduced to nanoparticles.

Yes, titanium dixoide and zinc oxide can be manufactured in a laboratory. In this case they absolutely contain none of the heavy metals that are often present in minerals mined directly from the earth. When manufacturers do use minerals taken directly from the earth, they are heavily processed to remove all traces of heavy metals and any other contaminants so they reach the quality level required for use in cosmetics. Minerals are also processed and coated with pigments by the manufacturers.

Did you have a concern about the mined vs. lab-created? I've read in some places that customers are concerned about whether the minerals are a naturally-renewing resource. Of that, I'm not sure about, but they could be considered a renewable resource since they can be lab-created. In addition, any minerals that are produced by man must have their individual source ingredients come from somewhere on this plant, so there are still resources being used. So the labs are using zinc mined from somewhere in another form to produce zinc oxide, and so on.

I hope this addresses your concerns.

To a chemist, there are 2 kinds of substances, organic chemicals, and salts. Salts are a lattice structure of a metal and a negative ion. Most of the chemicals used in mineral makeup are salts, and making them in a lab just makes them more pure, with fewer trace elements.

It's the synthetic organics that are made from petroleum distillates, and tend to be less pure than those found in nature. This is the difference between, say, banana oil, and a banana pop made with artificial flavors. It always smells and tastes synthetic. So don't be scared of stuff like zinc oxide made in a lab. It's like stirring sea salt into water, and then re-crystallizing it on a string. You get almost pure salt, and all the trace minerals make that multi-colored sludge on the bottom of the glass.

JaneMarie, card-carrying science geek

This is so OT for this thread but have to ask:

JaneMarie, are you from Albuquerque?

to MShuberman, yes, I'm from ALBQ. I'm president of the Duke City Minis club, so that's where Mini Duchess comes from.

Hey, want to get together on our next order, and save on shipping?

JaneMarie, the Mini Duchess