Can You Get Cancer from Cosmetic Talc Powder?

Talc powder (also known as talcum powder) has gained a bad reputation in the cosmetic industry for the past few years alongside paraben and sulphate (e.g. SLS/SLES). The controversy started when Johnson & Johnson, a major manufacturer of baby powder using talc, was involved in several lawsuits by women who claimed that their ovarian cancer was caused by daily dusting of Johnson’s baby powder on their genital area. Aside from ovarian cancer, there are also articles floating around the internet claiming that talc can also cause lung cancer. Before we dig into those issues, let me first give you more info about talc.

Talc is a natural mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate. It has the ability to absorb moisture (e.g. sweat) and reduces friction which makes it an ideal ingredient for baby powders. Talc is also a popular filler used in powder makeup due to its soft and silky texture.

In its natural form, talc may or may not contain asbestos – a mineral known to cause lung cancer. This is due to the fact that talc and asbestos are naturally occurring minerals that may be found in close proximity in the earth, which explains the potential for contamination during its mining. This means that talc itself is not carcinogenic, rather it’s the talc that is contaminated with asbestos.

The good news is that cosmetic-grade talc does not contain asbestos. Cosmetic regulating bodies have imposed stricter standards stating that talc used in cosmetic products must be free from asbestos. Bigger cosmetic brands that use talc in their products have already taken the initiative to only use asbestos-free talc. For example, Unilever assures their consumers that they only use cosmetic-grade (asbestos-free) talc in all of their personal care products. However, for small scale cosmetic manufacturers, we can’t be assured that they will always comply with regards to the use of cosmetic-grade talc in their products. 

Now let’s go back to our two main issues.

Does talc powder cause lung cancer?

According to the American Cancer Society, “no increased risk of lung cancer has been reported with the use of cosmetic talcum powder”. Again, I would like to emphasize that they’re referring to cosmetic-grade talc.

You will only be susceptible to lung cancer if you are a miner working at a talc-mining site where you can be exposed to extremely large amount of talc contaminated with asbestos over a long period of time. For us consumers, this won’t be a problem since talc must be purified from any impurities (e.g. asbestos) before making its way to our cosmetics. Not to mention that when we use talc in baby powder or makeup, we don’t really inhale it in very large amount for extended period of time unlike the talc miners.

Does talc powder cause ovarian cancer?

The public concern over perineal (genital area) talc powder dusting and its relation to ovarian cancer has been a topic of debate for many years. In fact, for the past 20 years, several studies have been conducted with regards to this issue but evidences are still considered inconclusive (unproven). Some experts say that finding talc particles in ovarian cancer tissues do not necessarily mean that talc is the cause of cancer. There are many other risk factors that can cause ovarian cancer such as genetics (e.g. family history), diet and lifestyle choices. Those said factors are not even mentioned on previously conducted studies and instead just focuses on asking women participants if they use talc powder on their genital area or not. Due to limited evidences from human studies, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies the genital use of talc powder as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. “Possibly” which means that it may or may not cause or increase the risk of having ovarian cancer. In other words, it is not yet certain whether talc powder can cause ovarian cancer.

There are still ongoing researches being conducted to find stronger evidences linking ovarian cancer to talc powder. Until a final conclusion is presented, it is a matter of personal choice whether you want to avoid applying talc powder on genital area. However, if you have an increased risk of getting ovarian cancer due to a family history of the disease, then I highly advise that you avoid using talc powder on your genital area, just to be on the safe side.

Take note that the existing research studies only mention about genital application of talc powder, which means that using talc-based powder on other parts of the body or face will not cause any harm.

Any alternatives to cosmetic talc?

If you are a cosmetic formulator and you want to make a talc-free baby powder or powder makeup formulation, then you need to use an alternative raw material that has similar properties with talc. We’re looking for powders with silky texture, very fine particle size and has oil/moisture absorption capabilities. Example of these materials are boron nitride, sericite mica, silk powder and kaolin clay.

You can also use plant-based starches like cornstarch, arrowroot powder and rice powder as alternatives to talc. However, since they are food-grade powders, they have shorter shelf life and more prone to microbial contamination. They also have larger particle size than talc so they need to be grinded prior to use in cosmetics so that they would have finer and smoother texture when applied on skin.

References:

Is talc bad for you? Retrieved from https://thebeautybrains.com/2006/09/is-talc-bad-for-you/

Perineal Talc Use and Ovarian Cancer: A Critical Review. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621109/

Talc. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/talc

Talcum Powder and Cancer. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/talcum-powder-and-cancer.html

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