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It's not easy for Erin Hitzfeld, a 31-year-old nurse in Houston, to find a foundation that works. "I'm so pale it's hard to find colors that match my skin," she says, "and I'm acne prone. Everything makes me break out."
So she was upset when her favorite brand changed her go-to hue and she was forced to find a new product. "But my sister started wearing mineral makeup," she says. "She said it didn't make her break out, and that it gave her great coverage without feeling heavy." This was more than just the usual recommendation -- her sister, Kelley Ellis, is her identical twin -- so Hitzfeld decided to give mineral makeup a try too.
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Everyone seems to be jumping on the mineral makeup bandwagon. "People think mineral means natural, so they are drawn to it," says Francesca Fusco, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
Indeed, many converts find out about mineral makeup when they want to go "green" with their cosmetics. "With the current interest in safe, natural, and organic products, the mineral makeup approach is very popular, and the category appears to be continuing to grow," says cosmetic chemist Jim Hammer of Mix Solutions in Uxbridge, Massachusetts.
But switching from conventional makeup isn't mandatory, nor is it for everyone, experts say, despite the claims by manufacturers, dermatologists, and some women that mineral versions not only look good but also improve the skin.
Mineral makeup got its commercial start in the 1970s, Hammer says, "with some of the really early all-natural makeup products." This was one of the first examples of the natural look in makeup. He points out, however, that its history is as ancient as the human desire to enhance one's looks.
"Mineral makeup is a return to technologies that have been in use since ancient times," he says. "Many ancient cultures used ground-up natural minerals as a means of applying color to the skin for decoration, camouflage, war paints, etc." He cites Cleopatra, with her kohl-rimmed eyes, as an example. "But the history of mineral makeup no doubt goes back much farther, even to early cave-dwellers."
So who first successfully marketed the concept? One pioneer was Diane Ranger, the cosmetic chemist who founded Bare Escentuals in 1976 and later started Colorescience Pro, another mineral line. She developed her first mineral cosmetics because she felt there was a need and market for natural ingredients and a natural look and feel.
"In 1976, cosmetics firms were required to list ingredients on their products for the first time, and I was shocked at what we were putting on our skin," says Ranger, who had grown up wearing heavy, traditional makeup.
Then I went through my 'hippy girl' phase and discarded makeup along with my bra," she says.
The growing desire for natural cosmetics coincided with the increasing numbers of women who (rightly or wrongly) identified themselves as having sensitive skin. "Add in marketing and media awareness and an aging baby boomer," says Ranger. "All these matter."
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