Growing up, talc was a staple in my house. My mum would dust the powder on me and my sister after a bath. I don’t think we liked it much because when we became old enough to have baths on our own, we stopped using it.
But talc didn’t give up on me. It sneakily came back into my life a few years later, hiding in my makeup. Eyeshadows, blushes, powders… talc is often a key ingredient in them.
I never thought much of it until a few years ago rumours started going round that talc can give you pimples and cancer. I had to put my detective cap on and investigate.
Here’s the truth about talc in skincare and makeup products:
What Is Talc And Why Is It Used In Skincare And Makeup Products?
Talc is a soft mineral. It’s extracted from talc rocks and then processed to remove any traces of nasty and toxic substances that may be lurking in there.
In skincare and makeup products, talc is a multitasker:
- It absorbs excess oil, giving skin a matte finish.
- It helps makeup better adhere to the skin.
- It gives cosmetics an opaque finish.
- It prevents caking.
Talc is more useful if you have oily skin, but anyone can use it.
Related: The Best Skincare Routine For Oily Skin?
Wondering what skincare ingredients are bad for you? Download your FREE “Skincare Ingredients To Avoid” cheat sheet to find out the worst culprits that’ll give you acne, irritations, and flare-ups:
Does Talc Cause Cancer?
First things first: let’s address the rumour talc causes cancer. This white powder is accused of giving you two specific types of cancer: lung cancer and ovarian cancer.
Will Talc Give You Lung Cancer?
Let’s start with lung cancer. In its natural form, talc can be contaminated with asbestos. As you probably know, asbestos IS carcinogenic when inhaled. It makes sense that when the two are used together, they could cause trouble.
This is indeed a concern if you work in industrial settings without all the proper precautions. Cosmetic-grade talc, the only type allow in skincare and makeup products, has been processed to remove every trace of asbestos. In other words, it’s safe.
On top of it, there are rules that prevent you from inhaling your cosmetics. According to cosmeticsinfo.org “to help prevent inhalation by consumers, talc used in loose powder products is milled to a relatively large, non-respirable particle size (>5 µm).”
For adults, talc in cosmetics is safe. But, there’s a small amount of research that suggests that IF babies inhale too much talc powder, they could experience severe pulmonary complications. So either don’t use talc on babies or do it carefully: step away from your baby, powder your hands with it and dust the powder on your child. If your baby doesn’t inhale the powder, nothing bad will happen.
Will Talc Give You Ovarian Cancer?
Now, let’s tackle the rumour that talc causes ovarian cancer. The rumours were raised by a 1992 study. The women who took part in the study applied talc to their perineal area after bathing or directly on their sanitary napkins or diaphragms.
They used different types of talc too: some women used only baby powder (a simple mixture of talc and fragrance), others deodorant powders (they can contain other minerals such as silica) and another group types of powders containing talc.
It was the deodorant powders that had the highest correlation (NOT causation) to ovarian cancer. This suggests one of the other ingredients in these products may be the culprit. If talc were to blame, why didn’t it cause problems for the other women as well?
The studies showed something else: “the greatest ovarian cancer risk associated with perineal talc use was observed in the subgroup of women estimated to have made more than 10,000 applications during years”, but yet “this exposure was found in only 14% of the women with ovarian cancer.”
At the moment, research simply doesn’t support the claims that talc gives you ovarian cancer.
If you’re really worried, don’t apply talc to your private parts. But it’s perfectly safe to use it everywhere else.
Related: Skincare Ingredients I Personally Avoid
Is Talc Comedogenic?
What about pimples? Will talc make your face erupt in a war zone? It’d be ironic if this happened as talc is great at absorbing excess oil.
Luckily, since says you’ve got nothing to worry about. A 1984 study tested the comedogenicity of several ingredients and discovered that a mixture of talc, water and glycerin is less comedogenic than Isopropyl Palmitate, Myristyl Myristate (two ingredients I avoid like the plague because they never fail to break me out), Butyl Stearate, Decyl Oleate, Octyl Palmitate and Isopropyl Isostearate.
Now you know who to really blame!
Related: Is Isopropyl Myristate Comedogenic?
The Bottom Line
I don’t care what scaremongers say, as of now there’s no proof talc causes cancer or pimples. If you’d rather err on the safe side, don’t use it on your private parts. But there’s no reason to banish it completely from your skincare routine.
I did indeed stop using products with talc, especially baby powder (which is too bad because I just love the scent), due to reports of lung cancer with the continued use of talc.
I suppose talc can’t be any worse than the air we breath.
Monica.
Monica, inhaling talc is a concern if you are a miner or do a work that requires you to be in contact with this substance for hours a day without taking the appropriate precautions. But there’s really no risk of getting lung cancer from talc in cosmetics, so if you like baby powder, you can keep using it. 🙂
My grandma has used talc all her life and never had any problems. Sometimes I think we worry a bit *too* much
Katie, I agree. Pretty much everything that was done up to only 10/20 years ago is now considered dangerous. Makes you wonder how we managed to survive till now. I blame well-meaning, but without a scientific background, journalists and bloggers who come across studies claiming that something causes cancer or other illnesses, and repeat the information, but without taking into consideration how the said studies were performed and on who. Very few things are either good or bad. Most are good or bad depending on the doses and the way they are administered.
Hello! I am a silent follower of your blog. Thanks for blogging about the different ingredients. It’s really helpful knowledge as a product often contains too many ingredients that confuses the mass population (or… only me??). 🙂
By the way, I nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award. 🙂
http://chicmum.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/the-versatile-blogger-award-tag/
Hope you have a lovely day! xx
Chic Mum, hi! It’s lovely to hear from you and I’m glad you like my blog. Those ingredients can be very confusing indeed. Hopefully posts like this will make them more accessible. 🙂
And thank you for nominating me. I will do the tag soon. 🙂
Thank you! I hope you have a lovely day too!
I had heard about this – like most things I think that moderation/sense is best, so yes, we have talc in the bathroom, and I’m sure it’s not being used too much!
Viv, I agree. Moderation is always best. 🙂
talc absolutely makes you breakout on your face. that part is true for many.
Dee, sorry to hear it doesn’t agree with your skin. 🙁
I’m only worried about talc if it’s contaminated with asbestos, but other than that, I really don’t care. Some products I have seen have tested positive for asbestos, and they were very cheap, poor quality cosmetics and powders. Drugstore powders are just fine.
Abby, I agree. Big brands won’t have any asbestos. They have the resources to use good quality products. Besides, why would they want to hurt their customers?
Unfortunately, some big brands do! Johnson and Johnson has been found guilty of this more than once. Finally the awareness is out. A lot of plaintiffs unfortunately died of cancer before they could testify. However, one woman, Deanne Berg, refused a payout and took them to court, and they were found negligent. The sad thing is, is that Johnson & Johnson knew there was asbestos in their talc for over 50 years, but never changed their product. In fact, they went to lengths to alter and delete tests!!! It’s sad to hear about a company who constantly claims their products are safe. It’s sad how some companies gain so much power that when something like this is brought up, they can hide it, and get away with it for so long. Even big reputable businesses can be a threat. What’s also worrying is the lengths they were to hide this, when all they had to do was find a talc alternative. Clearly human safety isn’t their priority.
https://www.beautypackaging.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2020-02-10/johnson-johnson-to-pay-750-million-for-asbestos-in-baby-powder/