How can I tell whether a mineral is nano?

Only if the brand says. Particle size is not required on a US ingredient list, so a label reading Iron Oxides alone tells you nothing about size. Ours reads Iron Oxides (Non-Nano, Uncoated).

Nanoparticles in cosmetics

The Avoid-List Ingredients · ingredientlogic Editorial · 1 min read

The short answer

A nanoparticle is a particle smaller than 100 nanometres. At that size, minerals used in makeup can behave differently on skin than their larger counterparts, and research on what that means is still developing. Every mineral and pigment in our formulas is non-nano and uncoated, and the label says so.

A nanoparticle is smaller than 100 nanometres. At that scale, minerals behave differently from their larger counterparts, and the research on what that means for skin is still developing.

Because there is no settled answer, we made a settled choice: every mineral and pigment we use is non-nano and uncoated, and we say so on the label rather than leaving particle size to be assumed.

This is why our labels read 'Iron Oxides (Non-Nano, Uncoated)' rather than 'Iron Oxides'. The extra words are the whole point.

In our formulas

Generated from our published formula lists. Iron Oxides / Titanium Dioxide, product by product.

Contains it