If you use mineral powder cosmetics, you probably use bismuth oxychloride, commonly called BOC, for its shimmer and pearlescent luster. Bismuth is the only heavy metal classified on the Material Safety Data Sheet, MSDS, as non-toxic in all of its commonly used forms, including BOC. Side effects are rare and usually mild, but certain cautions are still advised by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, or CDC. Respiratory, skin and neurological side effects have been documented.
Respiratory Irritant
Inhaling BOC powder, perhaps while applying dry cosmetics, produces an irritant effect on your nose, throat and lungs, making you sneeze and cough, according to the CDC. The crystalline, particulate nature of the powder rather than a direct toxicity causes this irritation. BOC in your eyes will cause redness, watering and burning.
Skin Irritant
Apply a mineral powder cosmetic containing BOC to take advantage of either of two effects known in the cosmetic industry as white shimmer and matte pearlescence. These qualities reflect light and appear to hide or soften the appearance of wrinkles and age spots, according to researchers at TruthInAging.com. However, side effects are common. The finely abrasive nature of the crystalline powder is slightly irritating. The heavy metal component of the powder causes it to fall off your skin fairly rapidly, so frequent reapplications become frequent irritations. This is known to cause a side effect of aggravating acne in some individuals, and can cause a flare up of rosacea for others.
Neurological Complications
According to CDC records, in 1972 some U.S. physicians attempted to take advantage of an anti-microbial, antidiarrheal quality of BOC, which they hoped would deodorize fecal matter for colostomy patients. Unspecified illness resulted from administration of very large doses. Prescriptions for this use were terminated. In 1974 and 1975 French physicians prescribed bismuth compounds for treatment of constipation and other unspecified gastrointestinal ailments in doses described as "huge." Bismuth, normally biologically safe, entered the patients' blood stream due to the overwhelming doses and caused neurotoxicity. Sixteen deaths were reported due to this side effect. The practice was then prohibited.
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