Rising up with a Black mother and grandma, I used to be conditioned to affiliate a number of key issues with femininity: a totally lotioned and glistening physique, gold jewellery, and all the time smelling wonderful. As an grownup, I keep it up the legacy of smelling good by sustaining a powerful arsenal of perfumes, scented physique oils, and lotions. However regardless of my efforts, I can by no means fairly replicate that candy, long-lasting scent my elders achieved. It wasn’t till I used to be scrolling on TikTok lately that I got here throughout the factor I didn’t notice I’d been lacking: dusting powder.
For those who’re unfamiliar, dusting powder is a finely milled scented powder used on the physique to maintain moisture at bay, soften the pores and skin, and make you scent good—or clear, on the very least. Dusting powders had been notably fashionable again within the ‘80s and ‘90s (particularly amongst Black girls) however physique powders first hit America within the Eighteen Nineties when Johnson & Johnson started to market their now-famous child powder.
Dusting powders have been quiet within the mainstream for a number of many years—extra on why in a minute—however, this yr, Black girls have been main a revival of the product by sharing their DIY dusting powder concoctions on TikTok below #dustingpowder, which, on the time I’m scripting this, has over 1,100 movies tagged to it. “Let’s deliver again fragrance dusting powders for magnetism and glamour magic,” one person writes within the caption of her video.
If the booming fragrance industry is any indication, folks haven’t misplaced the will to scent good. So why did dusting powders exit of fashion? One wrongdoer might be the general public’s wariness about talc, a major ingredient in lots of these powders that had been fashionable 30+ years in the past. “Talc is a naturally occurring mineral that was [commonly] used as a sensory modifier and absorbent in powder merchandise,” says beauty chemist Amanda Lam. Talc isn’t dangerous by nature, however some talc-based merchandise have examined optimistic for asbestos contamination, giving talc a nasty repute general.
The beginnings of widespread concern about talc started within the Seventies after cancer researchers tested 20 powder products made with talc and located 10 of them had asbestos. In 1997, a claim was made towards Johnson & Johnson by a lady alleging that using the corporate’s child powder led to her growing most cancers. That case was ultimately dropped, however different lawsuits arose within the following years, additional inflicting the repute of physique powders to drop—with shoppers and producers. “Ever for the reason that ongoing Johnson & Johnson lawsuits, corporations have been cautious of utilizing talc,” says Lam.
