With the popularity of makeup, powder usage in cosmetics is growing. Cosmetics powders fall into four main categories. These are pigment powders, white powders, filler powders, and pearlescent powders. Pigment powders are used to adjust cosmetic color tones. White powders provide coverage, whitening, and UV protection. Filler powders vary and serve multiple functional roles. They enhance spreadability, absorption, adhesion, and texture. They also reduce visual focus and carry active ingredients. Pearlescent powders add shine and improve product texture.
Skin-feel enhancing powders are gaining attention across skincare, makeup, and sunscreen. They include inorganic, organic, and natural powders.
Inorganic skin feel improving powder
Silicon dioxide
Silica powders, chemically known as silicon dioxide, is widely used in cosmetics, mainly in the form of precipitated silica.
It appears as a colorless, transparent, and glossy crystal or amorphous powder.
Based on structural level, it is classified into five grades:
- Very High Structure (VHS): oil absorption > 200 mL/100g
- High Structure (HS): oil absorption 175–200 mL/100g
- Medium Structure (MS): oil absorption 125–175 mL/100g
- Low Structure (LS): oil absorption 75–125 mL/100g
- Very Low Structure (VLS): oil absorption < 75 mL/100g
Cosmetic-grade silica sold on the market is typically spherical silica, most commonly processed into 2–15 μm hollow microspheres. Some have porous surfaces, providing excellent adsorption and lubricity, capable of absorbing both oil and water, with particle sizes around 6.0–9.0 μm. Others feature a hollow spherical structure with a weaker silky feel but offer a strong soft-focus effect, with particle sizes between 9.0–23.0 μm. Some silica is surface-treated with silicone oil, making it water-resistant and more compatible with oils, allowing easier incorporation into W/O base makeup formulations. Thanks to its high hardness, silica also enhances the compression resistance of cosmetic products.
Mica
Mica powders refers to a group of hydrated aluminum silicate compounds. It appears as a light gray, flaky crystalline powder, mostly monoclinic, with a pseudo-hexagonal sheet structure. The main types used in cosmetics are muscovite powders and sericite powders. Muscovite is soft and lustrous, while sericite feels smooth and silky. Its particles do not agglomerate and, being very thin plate-like crystals (0.2–0.5 μm), they appear nearly transparent on the skin without causing a whitening effect.
Most mica powders on the market today are surface-treated to enhance skin feel and oil compatibility.
Talc
Talc is a white, fine crystalline powder with a layered structure. It has a smooth, lubricating feel, soft texture, moderate adhesion, and high whiteness, providing a certain degree of coverage. It is one of the most commonly used fillers in powder-based products, mainly applied in face powders, compact powders, and body powders.
Talc has a relatively high polarity, and when dispersed in low-polarity solvents, its compatibility is poor. The lack of affinity causes incomplete mixing with solvents, resulting in weak adhesion and causing compact powders to become brittle. Currently, most commercial talc powders undergo surface treatment, with the most common being triethoxy-octylsilane treatment. This treatment improves water resistance, reduces the surface activity of the powder, and enhances its compatibility. Other surface treatments can improve suspension stability, dispersion, and skin adhesion.
Organic skin feel improved powder
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
PMMA (Polymethyl methacrylate) comes in cross-linked and non-cross-linked forms. Its hardness is lower than silica, and it helps adjust the flowability of products, improving moldability. It has no coverage ability but provides a smooth feel on the skin.
In compact powders and body powders, it offers lubrication, improving the dispersion of pigments and preventing uneven application. It forms an even, smooth film on the skin’s surface and provides a soft powdery feel in foundation and skincare products.
Nylon
Nylon powder, also known as polyamide powder, is a polyamide resin with a white, microporous oval-shaped appearance. Its particle size ranges from 8.0 to 12.0 μm. It has lower hardness than PMMA, is soft, and offers excellent heat resistance, wear resistance, and self-lubricating properties, with a low coefficient of friction.
Natural skin feel improved powder
Natural skin-feel modifiers are typically starches, mainly divided into granular starch and dispersible starch. Granular starch does not swell in water, while dispersible starch does swell in water.
Currently, widely used types include AkzoNobel’s corn starch, which has a smooth, polygonal particle shape, a soft, smooth feel, high whiteness, and an oil absorption value of about 56 mL/100 g.
Tapioca starch, with bell-shaped particles, offers a soft skin feel and an oil absorption value of about 66 mL/100 g, making it a suitable alternative to talc.
Conclusion
In summary, composite powders are mostly developed by enhancing traditional powders with additional functions to meet the increasing demands of modern cosmetics in terms of skin feel and performance. As the market continues to evolve, composite powders have greater potential for development—becoming more refined, targeted, and user-friendly. When selecting skin-feel enhancing powders for skincare, sunscreen, or makeup products, it is important to consider factors such as surface morphology, particle size, oil absorption, and tactile properties. Multifunctional composite powders will play an increasingly important role in cosmetic formulations.
Epic powder
Epic Powder, 20+ years of work experience in the ultrafine powder industry. Actively promote the future development of ultra-fine powder, focusing on crushing,grinding,classifying and modification process of ultra-fine powder. Contact us for a free consultation and customized solutions! Our expert team is dedicated to providing high-quality products and services to maximize the value of your powder processing. Epic Powder—Your Trusted Powder Processing Expert !
