It is produced and tested against a tighter heavy-metal profile, which is what most market-specific cosmetic questionnaires actually ask about.
The base grade meets the general cosmetic specification. The GL series is held to the stricter limits that some markets and some customer SOPs apply, and it comes with the documentation to demonstrate it. That is the entire difference — the particle size and the performance are the same as the corresponding standard grade.
If your customer sends a heavy-metal questionnaire, ask for GL before you promise anything.
In most formulas, yes, but it takes more than one material.
Talc does three jobs at once — slip, oil absorption and cost — and no single substitute does all three at the same price. The usual approach pairs a platy material for slip (mica or sericite) with a harder or more porous one for structure and oil control (calcined kaolin, porous silica).
Expect the replacement to cost more and to press differently. Our Replace Talc series in the mica range is built for exactly this — matte sericite and synthetic fluorphlogopite, both designed as drop-in platy replacements.
Because the platelets align during pressing, and the alignment is not uniform.
Platy materials orient parallel to the pressing surface, which is what produces the sheen — but if the fill is uneven or the press is not level, the platelets align at slightly different angles across the pan, and the result reads as streaks. It is a process problem, not a material problem, in most cases.
Two things help: a tighter particle size distribution (synthetic grades are better here) and a slower press cycle with a more even fill. Adding a small amount of a spherical filler also breaks up the alignment and reduces the effect.
Standard grades are normally stocked and ship in small quantities for sampling; production volumes are quoted per order. Lead time depends on grade and quantity rather than being fixed.
In practice: sample quantities go out first so you can run the formula before committing, and the commercial quote follows the sample result. If you are scheduling a launch, tell us the target date with the sample request — the grades that need a production run are the ones where timing slips, and it is cheaper to plan that at the start than to expedite later.
Exact MOQ, packing and shipping terms are quoted against the specific grade and destination.
It can support the claim, but it is not a texture-for-texture swap.
Talc is platy and provides slip plus moderate oil absorption. Spherical silica provides oil absorption plus ball-bearing glide and soft-focus, and it does not give the same coverage or compact strength. In practice a talc-free formula uses silica for oil control and soft-focus, and mica or boron nitride for slip and structure, with a binder review afterwards.
The claim itself needs checking against the market's rules — some markets define talc-free and asbestos-free differently, and a substitution that is technically sound can still need a specific statement or test report.
Hardness in a pressed compact comes from particle packing and from the binder, and coarser particles pack into a denser, stronger structure. The 400–420 nm grades press better than the 210 nm grade at the same binder level. Anatase is also mechanically softer, which some formulators prefer for a smoother press surface.
If the compact is chipping in transit, raise the binder or the coarse fraction before changing the TiO2 grade.
It wets out slowly but disperses cleanly once wetted — the difficulty is the initial wetting, not the breakdown.
In a dry powder blend it is simply blended. In a slurry or a cream it needs shear: a high-speed disperser at 1500–2500 rpm for 15–20 minutes is usually enough, and a bead mill gives a tighter particle size distribution if the finish matters. Adding it to the oil phase before the water phase reduces the lumping that happens when a fine calcined clay hits water directly.
If you see specks in the finished product, check for undispersed lumps rather than oversized particles — calcined clay forms them readily.
It affects them through the oil absorption path more than directly.
Finer talc with higher oil absorption takes up more of the binder and the sebum, which can improve wear because the film stays drier and less mobile. It can also make the film more brittle if it takes up too much of the binder. Coarser talc leaves more binder free, which gives a more flexible film and better adhesion but a shorter wear time on oily skin.
In practice, a blend of a coarse and a fine grade often beats either alone — you get the slip of the coarse grade and the oil control of the fine one.
25 kg per bag, 500 kg jumbo bags available. MOQ 25 kg for stock grades, 100–200 kg for non-stock.
Lead time is about 7–15 working days; samples are 1 kg and ship with COA and TDS.
Mica is a low-bulk-density material, so a 25 kg bag is physically large — worth knowing when you plan warehouse space. For high-volume use, the jumbo bag is usually the better unit.
It does not add coverage, and it is not a whitening filler. Its refractive index is close enough to typical binder and filler systems that it scatters little.
What it does is make the finish look softer: the plates lie flat on the skin, which evens out how light scatters and lowers the visible contrast of pores and small imperfections. That is optical blurring, not hiding. If you need coverage, that has to come from titanium dioxide or an equivalent.
One practical consequence: in a high-coverage formula, adding boron nitride will not lighten the shade, but it can make the finish look slightly less flat, which some briefs describe as a loss of coverage. It is a change in appearance, not in pigment loading.
Stocked standard grades move quickly at sample scale; the commercial quantity and lead time are quoted per grade and destination.
The wide grade range — OA from 60 to 300, size from 2 to 200 µm — means not every code is held at the same level, and a code that needs a production run is where timing is decided. If you have a launch date, include it with the sample request so the schedule is built around the grade you will actually use.
Samples go out first so you can confirm the grade in your own formula; the quote follows the confirmed grade rather than the catalogue number.
MOQ is typically 25 kg for a stock grade and 100–200 kg for a production run of a non-stock grade. Lead time is roughly 7–15 working days depending on grade and quantity; stock items ship sooner.
Standard packaging is 25 kg net in a paper-plastic composite bag, with 500 kg or 1000 kg jumbo bags available for larger orders. Samples are 1 kg, shipped with COA and TDS.
Give us the destination port when you enquire — it changes the packing choice more often than people expect, because humidity in transit matters for an uncoated grade.
MOQ is 25 kg for a stock grade, 100–200 kg for a non-stock grade. Lead time 7–15 working days, samples 1 kg.
Standard packing is 25 kg paper-plastic composite bags; 500 kg and 1000 kg jumbo bags are available. For talc specifically, we do not recommend paper sacks for sea freight in humid seasons — the powder takes up moisture at the seams and cakes.
Tell us the destination and the mode of transport at enquiry and we will propose the packing that survives the route.
We reply within one business day with shipping arrangements and technical documents. Samples are free of charge; freight is collect or credited against your next order.
