Iron Oxide Red ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is an insoluble mineral colorant used to create red, brick, terracotta, and warm brown shades. It also adds opacity and coverage in makeup, tinted skin care, and personal care products.
What does Iron Oxide Red do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is an insoluble mineral colorant used to create red, brick, terracotta, and warm brown shades. It also adds opacity and coverage in makeup, tinted skin care, and personal care products.
Is Iron Oxide Red clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally well tolerated because it is inert, non-fragrant, and not a common sensitizer. The main quality issue is purity, with cosmetic-grade material controlled for trace heavy metals.
Is Iron Oxide Red sustainable?
This material is mineral-derived and can be mined or manufactured to a high-purity grade. It is not biodegradable in the usual organic-chemistry sense, but it is inert, does not bioaccumulate meaningfully, and has low aquatic mobility when properly formulated.
Is Iron Oxide Red COSMOS-approved?
It is permitted under COSMOS for natural and organic cosmetics as an approved mineral colorant when purity specifications are met, though it does not contribute organic agricultural content. Its Green Chemistry profile is strong on stability, low reactivity, and low irritation, with the main caveat being mineral sourcing and processing energy.
How does Iron Oxide Red work chemically?
This compound is an insoluble inorganic pigment built from a crystalline metal-oxide lattice, which gives it strong light, heat, and pH stability across typical cosmetic conditions. Use levels range from trace tinting amounts below 1% to several percent in foundations and higher levels in pressed color cosmetics, and performance depends on good dispersion with suitable wetting agents.
Last updated 2026-05-13