Is Titanium Dioxide Safe? An Honest Answer for Anyone Reading Labels

If you have gone looking into titanium dioxide, you have probably come away more worried than when you started. There are headlines about a European ban. There are articles mentioning cancer. There is a great deal of talk about nanoparticles, usually without anyone explaining what a nanoparticle actually is.

So here is a straight answer, including the parts that are genuinely worth knowing rather than only the reassuring ones. We use titanium dioxide in our mineral foundations, so we are not a neutral party, and you should read this knowing that. What we can do is tell you exactly what is in our products, down to the particle size, and let you decide.

The short version

Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring mineral. In makeup it does two jobs: it provides physical sun protection by reflecting UV light, and it gives coverage and opacity. It is approved for use in cosmetics in Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The ban you have read about was about eating it, not wearing it. And the inhalation question is real, but it applies to breathing in loose dust, not to wearing foundation on your face.

The European ban was about food, not makeup

This is the single biggest source of confusion, and it is worth being precise about.

In August 2022 the European Union banned titanium dioxide as a food additive, where it appears on labels as E171 and is used to make things like sweets and icing look brighter and whiter. The European Food Safety Authority reviewed it and concluded it could no longer be considered safe to eat, largely because of uncertainty about whether it damages DNA when swallowed regularly over a long period.

That ruling was about ingestion. It did not extend to cosmetics, and titanium dioxide remains permitted in cosmetics and sunscreens in the EU, as well as in medicines. The reason is straightforward enough: eating something every day and putting it on the surface of your skin are different exposures, and they get assessed separately.

When you see a headline saying titanium dioxide is banned in Europe, that is what it is referring to. It is true, and it is about food.

The cancer question, and where it actually comes from

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies titanium dioxide as possibly carcinogenic to humans when inhaled as a dust. That classification came out of studies on rats breathing high concentrations of fine dust, and out of concern for workers in factories where titanium dioxide powder is handled in bulk all day.

It is not about skin contact. Titanium dioxide is not absorbed through intact skin, which is precisely why it works as a physical sunscreen: it sits on the surface and reflects light rather than being taken into the body.

But we are going to be more honest than most brands are about the next part.

The one thing that genuinely applies to loose powder

A lot of mineral makeup articles wave the inhalation issue away by saying it does not apply to cosmetics. If you sell pressed products only, that is a fair thing to say. If you sell a loose powder, as we do, it is not quite the whole story, and we would rather tell you.

Loose mineral powder can become airborne. If you tip a jar out enthusiastically, or puff powder around your face with a big fluffy brush, some of it goes into the air near your nose and mouth. The exposure is nothing remotely like an industrial setting, and we are not suggesting your foundation is dangerous. But if you are going to use loose powder every day for years, there are two habits worth having, and they cost you nothing.

• Tip, do not shake. Turn the jar gently over the lid rather than tapping powder into the air.
• Swirl and press, do not puff. Load your brush in the lid, tap the excess off there, and buff it into the skin rather than dusting it on from a distance.

If breathing anything at all concerns you, our Pressed Mineral Foundation gives you the same formula in a compact, where nothing can become airborne. Same coverage, same ingredients, no loose powder in the room. Plenty of our customers choose it for exactly that reason, and we think that is a perfectly sensible thing to do.

What a nanoparticle actually is, and why ours are not

A nanoparticle is defined as a particle measuring under 100 nanometres in all three dimensions. The concern with nanoparticles, in general terms, is that things small enough may behave differently in the body than the same material at a larger size.

Most brands say they are nano free and leave it there. We would rather give you the numbers, because a claim you can check is worth more than a claim you cannot.

• Our titanium dioxide: 1.2 to 1.7 microns, averaging about 1.5 microns. That is 1,500 nanometres, roughly fifteen times larger than the nano threshold.
• Our zinc oxide: a median of about 0.31 microns, or 310 nanometres, with everything falling between 0.25 and 0.35 microns. Still comfortably above nano, and fine enough to disappear on the skin while giving broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection.

We choose larger particle sizes deliberately across our titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, kaolin clay and micas. Larger particles sit on the surface of the skin rather than doing anything else, which is exactly what we want from a mineral makeup. You can see the full ingredient list for every product on the ingredients page.

Why we use it at all

Given all of the above, it is fair to ask why we use titanium dioxide rather than avoiding the conversation entirely.

Because it does two things nothing else does as well. It reflects UVA and UVB physically, which is how our Mineral Foundation Powder carries SPF 20+ without a single chemical sunscreen filter. And it provides opacity, which is what lets a mineral powder even out tone and cover redness without feeling like a mask.

It is also genuinely well tolerated. It does not clog pores, it has no fragrance, and it is one of the few pigments that reactive and rosacea-prone skin reliably gets on with. For a brand built around sensitive skin, that matters a great deal.

Questions we get asked

Is titanium dioxide banned in Australia?
No. It is permitted in cosmetics in Australia and is widely used in sunscreens here. The European ban applies to its use as a food additive.

Does it absorb into my bloodstream?
No. Titanium dioxide does not pass through intact skin, which is what makes it effective as a physical sun filter. It sits on the surface and reflects light.

Is nano titanium dioxide worse?
The research is still developing and regulators continue to review it, which is appropriate. We have taken the simple route of staying well clear of nano sizes entirely, so the question does not arise with our products.

Should I worry about breathing in loose mineral powder?
Not in ordinary use, but the sensible habits above are worth adopting, and the pressed formula exists if you would rather not think about it at all.

Is it safe during pregnancy?
Titanium dioxide in cosmetics is not on the standard avoid lists. We are not able to give medical advice, so show the ingredient list to your GP or midwife if you would like certainty.

Which of your products contain it?
Our mineral foundations, in all three formats. It is what provides both the coverage and the sun protection.

Where to go from here

If you have read this far, you are the kind of person who checks labels, and we would rather earn you than convince you. The most useful next step is usually to try it rather than read more about it.

Foundation samples are $3 each, so you can wear it for a week and decide for yourself. If you would prefer to avoid loose powder, start with the Pressed Mineral Foundation. If you would rather a liquid, our Liquid Mineral Foundation gives the same mineral coverage in a hydrating base.

If you would rather see everything we make for reactive skin in one place, that is the makeup for sensitive skin edit, and there is a narrower one for redness and flushing if that is your main concern.

Not sure of your shade? The Shade Finder Quiz takes about a minute, or send us a selfie in daylight through our contact page and Cher will match you herself.

And if you have a question this article did not answer, write to us. We would genuinely rather have the conversation than have you guess.