Ka
Kaolin Clay
Kaolin
A soft clay that soaks up surface oil, common in face masks.
What it does
It’s a common cosmetic clay that soaks up surface oil and lifts away debris. White kaolin is the softest-looking; pink, red and yellow kinds differ in iron content but work much the same. The main caution is breathing in the dust.
The evidence, graded
expert consensusKaolin is one of the clays US safety reviewers looked at for cosmetic use. Clays like it are used mainly to absorb, to make formulas opaque and to thicken. Across the group, skin irritation in tests was slight or absent; the main health concern is breathing the dust in, not skin contact.Elmore 2003 · International journal of toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Also known as
china clay
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