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Small heaps of red, yellow and black iron oxide pigment powder beside a chunk of ochre

MINERAL

Iron Oxides

CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides)

Mineral colour pigments in red, yellow and black, blended to give tinted formulas their shade and to give other products their colour.

Source

Mineral pigments

Used for

Tint and colour

How it works

The pigments behind the tint.

Iron oxides are mineral pigments, compounds of iron and oxygen, listed on ingredient labels by their colour index numbers: CI 77491 (red), CI 77492 (yellow) and CI 77499 (black). Cosmetic grades are made under controlled conditions for purity rather than dug straight from the ground, but they belong to the same family of pigments as natural earth colours such as ochre and umber.

Blended in different ratios, the three shades build up a wide range of skin-tone colours, which is why they are the standard way to tint CC formulas and other skin tints, often together with pigment-grade titanium dioxide. In other products a trace amount is used simply to give the formula itself its colour.

Iron oxides are among the most widely used colourants in cosmetics. They are stable, do not react with other ingredients, and appear in products for every skin tone.
  1. 01

    Mineral pigments in red, yellow and black

  2. 02

    Blended to give tinted formulas a natural-looking shade

  3. 03

    Used in trace amounts to give other formulas their colour

Questions

What are iron oxides in skincare?
Iron oxides are mineral colour pigments made of iron and oxygen. They come in red, yellow and black, listed on labels as CI 77491, CI 77492 and CI 77499, and blended in different amounts they create a wide range of shades. (European Commission CosIng; Lyons et al., 2021)
Can iron oxides be used around the eyes?
Yes. Iron oxides are approved for colouring cosmetics in both the EU and the US, including products used around the eyes. (US eCFR, 21 CFR 73.2250; European Commission CosIng)
Why are iron oxides used in tinted formulas?
They provide the tint. Iron oxides, often together with pigment-grade titanium dioxide, give tinted formulas their visible colour, and shades for every skin tone are made by varying the blend. (Lyons et al., 2021)

Where it comes from

Iron oxides are compounds of iron and oxygen. They come in slightly different forms, which is why cosmetic iron oxides are listed under three separate Colour Index numbers rather than one. (European Commission CosIng)

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