Minerals, metals, hygiene and beauty
GOINGthrough an airport x-ray machine at a domestic air terminal one day, I was following a nun who, as a standard requirement, had her bags go through the equipment. The officer on duty manning the machine politely said, "Sister, may nippers kayo? Diyan po, inside your bag." I wasn't sure if the Sister heard it correctly because she said, "ikaw talaga!" I couldn't help but smile because I thought I heard it differently also. Anyway, I was asked to move ahead of Sister because they had to open her bag. Accordingly, the nipper was not allowed for hand-carried luggage.
Walking towards the boarding gate, I suddenly realized that without the cuticle nippers or the nail cutter, people will be walking around with very, very long, curly, and probably dirty, finger nails. Imagine going to a church or even a convent and seeing all the faithful kneeling and saying their individual prayers with those long, dangling, and bacon-shaped finger nails. Everyone will also be walking bare-foot, or with their slippers, because of the walk made more difficult with those long, ultraextended toenails. Of course shoes would no longer be practical as those elongated toenails will make it practically impossible to put those colorful pair of shoes on. Well, one can always nibble on them nails as they grow but as Nanod would say today... ewwness!
Imagine, the very simple cuticle nipper and the nail cutter makes life more comfortable and better for all of us. And what is the nipper or nail cutter made of? Syempre naman, stainless steel or some other alloy of metal. Where do these metals come from? Of course, again, these are mined. Therefore, according to my college professor, mining once again saves the day! Now, do you still think mining has not done anything good for mankind?
As we await the boarding announcement, I see a gorgeous lady next to me all made up and again I'm curious if make-up users knew where make-up came from, or if they did care at all? For sure, mining is not the first thing (most) people think of when putting on their make-up. Did you know that most of the ingredients in make-up are extracted in some way or another from the earth and are one or two steps away from their pure extracted forms. It could be ar- gued that everything comes from the earth in some way or another and that I might be overthinking it – so let's narrow down the exhaustive list to a few main minerals. Our first mineral is one that has been used in make-up for centuries: titanium dioxide. It is mostly found tied up in minerals such as rutile and ilmenite occurring in mineral sand deposits around the world which are separated out and then processed. Besides its many other industrial uses, titanium dioxide is added to brighten and intensify the color of makeup, and to give whiteness and opacity. It is also found in sunblock, as well as foods (like the white sugar on top of doughnuts)
The second mineral on the runway is mica. Mica is not an individual mineral, but a family of silicate minerals of varying compositions that form in thin sheets. The make-up qualities of mica are very easy to understand if you’ve ever picked up a lump of mica-rich rock. Mica is widely used in eye shadows, powder, lipstick, and nail polish, to give luster or pearlescence to a product. Mica is resistant to ultraviolet light, heat, weather and chemical attack and adheres to the skin.
Rocks rich in the clay-mineral kaolinite – also known as kaolin clay, is one of the more surprising ingredients for some, as clay has the image of being dirty, muddy and generally unclean. However, kaolin is used in make-up extensively (not to mention beauty masks) as a way to soak up moisture. Kaolin is resistant to natural oils, and thus adheres well to the skin.
Zinc Oxide isn’t glamorous, but is essential in allowing an even spread in cream based products, as well being used to heal dry and chapped skin. Most zinc oxide is produced from refined metallic zinc, while some are produced directly from zinc-bearing ores or zinc salts.
While these minerals are used for the base of many make-up products, still others are used for creating the variety of make-up color tones. Iron oxides like the mineral hematite are responsible for red, orange, yellow, brown, and black tones in make-up. Greens, blues, purple, and pinks are all extracted from natural occurring minerals containing chrome, copper and manganese.
Minerals are especially important to your dental hygiene because of the important roles they play in keeping your teeth free of infections & cavities. Minerals are in every kind of toothpaste. One of the most important minerals found in toothpastes is calcite (Calcium Carbonate). This abrasive ingredient is what gives toothpaste its cleaning power. This mineral can be found in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. It is also an ingredient in other products like bathroom products and shoe cleaner. It is also used to make paper, paint and even plastic.
A popular active ingredient in toothpaste is Sodium Flouride. Sodium Flouride is used to strengthen tooth enamel which helps prevent dental cavities. Enamel is one of the four major tissues that make up a tooth. It is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance in the human body. Without Sodium Flouride, tooth enamel weakens increasing your chance at getting cavities.
The next time you brush your teeth, apply make-up, or even cut your nails, remember that mining made all these possible! Without responsible mining, we'd all be looking like monsters (maybe not only looking like monsters, we'd be monsters!) “Hygiene is two-thirds of health”
~ Lebanese Proverb “Nine-tenths of our sickness can be prevented by right thinking plus right hygiene - nine-tenths of it!” ~ Henry Miller