What Is White Sapphire® and Who Is It For?

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What Is White Sapphire®?

White Sapphire® is a fine white mineral powder used as a performance ingredient in cosmetics, sunscreens, and skincare. It is manufactured in Queensland, Australia, by Advance ZincTek, a TGA-licensed, GMP-certified manufacturer. Cosmetic brands and formulators

add it to their products to improve how those products perform and feel on skin.

White Sapphire® is available in two variants, Matte and Glow, each designed for a different finish. Both are EcoCert COSMOS Version 4 certified and carry a five-year shelf life under standard storage conditions.

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What Does White Sapphire® Do?

White Sapphire® absorbs excess oil and moisture from the skin, reducing shine and extending the wear of makeup and skincare throughout the day. It scatters light in a way that softens the appearance of fine lines and uneven texture without causing a white cast, keeping the finish transparent and true to skin tone. It adheres to skin significantly better than comparable ingredients, performing on average 29% better than talc, 44% better than nylon, and 64% better than silica. And when combined with zinc oxide, it increases the SPF output of a sunscreen formula. That effect is backed by a provisional patent held by Advance ZincTek, and it has already been put to use in a real product. Brisbane dermatologist Dr Russell Hills developed a SPF 50+ sunscreen using White Sapphire® that also reduces sweating.

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Matte or Glow: What Is the Difference?

Feature	Matte	Glow
Finish	Shine-free, clean matte	Luminous, radiant glow
Primary function	Oil control, anti-sweat, long wear	Radiance, wear, oil control
Best suited for	Foundations, face powders, primers, dry-touch sunscreens	Tinted SPF, complexion creams, glow-focused formulations
Formulation systems	Powder and emulsion	Powder and emulsion
Zinc oxide compatible	Yes	Yes
Certification	EcoCert COSMOS V4	EcoCert COSMOS V4

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Where Is White Sapphire® Used?

White Sapphire® is used across a wide range of product types:

•       Foundations and concealers

•       Loose and pressed face powders

•       Sunscreens and SPF skincare

•       Tinted moisturisers and complexion products

•       Lip and eye products

•       Skincare lotions and creams

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Technical Summary: White Sapphire® Matte

White Sapphire® Matte is a high-purity aluminium oxide powder with a controlled hexagonal particle structure. Mean particle size is 6.0–11.0 µm. BET surface area is 4–7.5 m²/g. Oil absorption is 50–100 g/100g. Tap density is 0.5–0.7 g/cm³. Coefficient of friction is 0.25–0.35. Whiteness Index exceeds 85. Al₂O₃ content is ≥97%. Purity meets FDA specifications for heavy metal impurities (Pb, As, Hg) in food and drug colour additives (U.S. FDA, 2024).

The high surface area drives oil and sebum adsorption, reducing surface gloss and extending film integrity in both emulsion and powder systems. The same mechanism supports anti-sweat performance in long-wear formulations (Becker et al., 2016).

Adhesion testing shows White Sapphire® Matte outperforms talc (+29%), nylon (+44%), and silica (+64%) on average across multiple substrates and methods (Becker et al., 2016).

When combined with ZinClear® XP zinc oxide, White Sapphire® Matte contributes to SPF enhancement in sunscreen and cosmetic formulations, supported by a provisional patent held by Advance ZincTek (Advance ZincTek, n.d.).

White Sapphire® Matte is non-nano and does not dissolve in water or oil. Aluminium oxide is non-mutagenic and non-carcinogenic across standard assay methods. Acute oral LD50 exceeds 5,000 mg/kg in rats. No skin or eye irritation (Soni et al., 2001; Becker et al., 2016). Listed by the US FDA as a colour additive exempt from certification under 21 CFR 73.1010 (U.S. FDA, 2024). Assessed safe for cosmetic use by the EU SCCS (SCCS, 2014). EcoCert COSMOS Version 4 certified.

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Technical Summary: White Sapphire® Glow

White Sapphire® Glow is a high-purity aluminium oxide powder with a controlled hexagonal crystal structure engineered for light diffusion and radiance enhancement. Mean particle size is 4.0–12.0 µm. BET surface area is 4–7.5 m²/g. Oil absorption is 50–100 g/100g. Whiteness Index exceeds 85. pH is 9.0–11.0. Al₂O₃ content is ≥97%. Purity meets FDA specifications for heavy metal impurities (Pb, As, Hg) in food and drug colour additives (U.S. FDA, 2024).

White Sapphire® Glow increases diffuse light transmittance while reducing the reflected components that highlight fine lines and surface irregularities. It maintains high transparency without visible whitening, supporting natural skin tone in both powder and emulsion systems (Becker et al., 2016).

Adhesion performance is demonstrated across multiple substrates compared to talc, silica, nylon, and boron nitride (Becker et al., 2016).

When combined with ZinClear® XP zinc oxide, White Sapphire® Glow contributes to SPF enhancement in sunscreen and cosmetic formulations, supported by a provisional patent held by Advance ZincTek (Advance ZincTek, n.d.).

White Sapphire® Glow is non-nano and does not dissolve in water or oil. Aluminium oxide is non-mutagenic and non-carcinogenic across standard assay methods. Acute oral LD50 exceeds 5,000 mg/kg in rats. No skin or eye irritation (Soni et al., 2001; Becker et al., 2016). Listed by the US FDA as a colour additive exempt from certification under 21 CFR 73.1010 (U.S. FDA, 2024). Assessed safe for cosmetic use by the EU SCCS (SCCS, 2014). EcoCert COSMOS Version 4 certified.

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References

Advance ZincTek. (n.d.). Provisional patent: White Sapphire® combined with ZinClear® XP for SPF enhancement in sunscreen and cosmetic formulations. Patent pending, Australia.

Becker, L.C., Boyer, I., Bergfeld, W.F., Belsito, D.V., Hill, R.A., Klaassen, C.D., Liebler, D.C., Marks, J.G., Shank, R.C., Slaga, T.J., Snyder, P.W., & Andersen, F.A. (2016). Safety assessment of alumina and aluminium hydroxide as used in cosmetics. International Journal of Toxicology, 35(3_suppl), 16S–33S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1091581816677948

Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety. (2014). Opinion on the safety of aluminium in cosmetic products (SCCS/1525/14). European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_153.pdf

Soni, M.G., White, S.M., Flamm, W.G., & Burdock, G.A. (2001). Safety evaluation of dietary aluminum. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 33(1), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1006/rtph.2000.1446

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2024). Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, §73.1010: Alumina. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-73/subpart-A/section-73.1010