Pearl Powder Uses - Use of Pearl Powder in 2024

17 Years of Experience in Pearlescent Pigment Uses - Original Pearl Pigment Manufacturer - KingChroma

What is pearlescent powder used for?

I. Pearlescent Powder for Cosmetics

Pearlescent cosmetics is an ideal pursuit in modern times. It can beautify the skin, without any toxic side effects. Zhuangcai pearlescent pigments have a non-toxic and gorgeous pearlescent luster. They are widely applied in cosmetics production.

Pearlescent pigments play a role of brightening from packages to contents of in cosmetics productions. With 3% of pearlescent pigments in binders, the pressed powder, lipsticks, eyeshadows, nail polishes and aerosol hairspray have an attractive luster, making users of cosmetics more charming! In addition, pearlescent pigments can be used with organic pearlescent agents such as glycol stearin, to make better colors and luster.

II. Pearlescent Powder for Plastics

Pearlescent pigments are translucent. Pay attention to the luster and make use of it for better pearlescent effects in applications. Pearlescent pigments are non-metallic pigments with stable chemical properties. Due to the safety guarantee, pearlescent pigments are widely applied in clinker processing, such as artificial leather, wallpaper, plastic packaging films, cosmetics and shampoo packages, plastic parts of household appliances, artificial pearls, plastic buttons and other plastic products to enhance the attractiveness. Furthermore, pearlescent pigments are applicable to almost all thermoplastics and some thermosetting plastics. The concentration of pearlescent pigments in plastics depends on application conditions, usually 1% to 2% (by resin weight) to achieve satisfactory pearlescent effects. Form some film products, the concentration of pearlescent pigments is up to 4% to 8%. Pearlescent pigments of high concentration or large particles are needed in some products of lower transparency.

III. Pearlescent Powder for Ink and paper printing

Jinrunli pearlescent pigments have strong decorative effects. They can be used separately and mixed with other pigments for use in a variety of inks. Through screen printing, gravure or flexography, pearlescent inks can make paper, cardboard, wallpaper plastics and textiles with elegant candlelight lusters and metallic effects. Zhuangcai pearlescent pigments have different particle sizes. They should be selected by printing methods.

Pigment Powders

Mica Powder

Titanium dioxide Pigment

Chameleon Powder

Pearl Powder

Pearl Powder Uses FAQs

What is pearlescent pigment powder?

Pearlescent pigments are composed substances with high refractive index. They are interference filters in environmental media with low refractive index. Through such filters, the incident light at an appropriate angle of the interface between materials of different refractive indexes is divided into the reflected light and transmitted light, which have complementary colors (the incident light at other angles is also absorbed and reflected). This is similar to colors of soap bubbles, spilled oil, and pearls in daily life.

Pearlescent pigments have a layered structure, consisting of the substrate and coating. The substrate is often composed of natural muscovite, silica or aluminum sheet; and the coating is composed of titanium dioxide, iron oxide, iron ferrocyanide), carmine, etc. The substrate must be lamellar, with a flexible and smooth surface. The thickness and refractive index of metal oxide determine interference effects.

How do pearlescent pigments create their unique shimmering effect?

The cross sections of pearlescent pigments have a physical structure similar to that of pearl. The core is mica with a low optical refractive index. It is wrapped by metal oxide with a high refractive index, such as titanium dioxide or iron oxide. In ideal applications, pearlescent pigments are evenly dispersed in layers parallel to the surface in coatings. Similar to pearl, incident light is reflected repeatedly to produce pearlescent effects. With the development of production technology, there are more and more well-known applications of pearlescent pigments. Pearlescent pigments are applied in automobile, motorcycle and bicycle coatings, powder coatings, architectural coatings, pearlescent inks, pearlescent plastic products, pearlescent cosmetics, as well as paper making, dyeing, rubber printing, ceramics, etc.

Can pearlescent pigments be mixed with other types of pigments?

Pearlescent pigments can be mixed with ordinary pigments for bright and high-purity colors. In fact, pearlescent pigments are often mixed with other pigments to enhance the visual effects. Some high-transparency organic pigments, such as cyan, green and quinacrine red, can be mixed with pearlescent pigments to produce bright colors. If pearlescent pigments are well mixed, the reflected light will have a brighter color, while the scattered light will have a darker color. Thin paint films will have brighter colors.

Note: Mixing of two pearlescent pigments is completely different from that of ordinary pigments. Ordinary pigments absorb complementary colors. However, pearlescent pigments will enhance complementary colors on subject colors. For example, mixture of ordinary red and green will turn black, but mixture of interference pearlescent red and pearlescent green will turn weak pearlescent yellow. It is not recommended to mix two interference pearlescent pigments. But an interference pearlescent color can be mixed with pure pearlescent white to produce the corresponding color.

Colorants must not be used too much to produce pearlescent colors, as excessive light absorption colors will mask pearlescent colors at the angle of reflection.

Are there any limitations or considerations when using pearlescent pigments?

Pearlescent pigmentshave excellent chemical stability during sintering at 900℃.
Various types of pearlescent pigments can be mixed with each other. A lot of such mixtures meet the needs for pearlescent effects.
Pearlescent pigments can be mixed with transparent pigments or dyes for broader spectrums.
Pearlescent pigments must not be mixed with opaque pigments or fillers.
Pearlescent pigments must not be mixed with complementary interference colors.
Pearlescent pigments must not be ground.

How do pearlescent pigments compare to metallic pigments in terms of appearance and application?

I. Differences in pigment composition

Metallic pigments are mainly composed of metals, such as silver powder, copper powder and aluminum powder. They have metallic lusters and reflection effects. Pearlescent pigments are composed of several thin layers of stannate, titanium dioxide, etc. They are coated with metal oxides or other dyes. Due to interference refraction, reflection and transmission in the light irradiation, metallic pigments have shimmering pearlescent effects.

II. Differences in the wavelength of reflected light

Colors of metallic pigments are formed by superimposition of reflected metal light and environmental light. Due to the simple wavelength of reflected light, bluish violet, golden yellow and silver colors in visible light are often seen. Colors of pearlescent pigments are formed by light refraction, interference, etc. Due to the wide wavelength of reflected light and rich forms of light color, pearlescent pigments are iridescent, silver, golden yellow, bluish violet, etc.

III. Different effects

Metallic pigments mainly feature the metallic texture and luster, large covering power and color fastness. They are often used in industrial fields such as coatings, plastics, rubber and printing. They can also be used as decorative pigments in cosmetics and baked food. Pearlescent pigments have unique lusters, making surfaces more prominent and stereoscopic. They are usually applied in cosmetics, coatings, plastics, printing, etc.

III. Differences in the scope of application

Metallic pigments are applicable to large-scale coatings, but not to coatings of detailed parts. They are also characterized by corrosion resistance and light resistance. They are mainly applied in industrial and mechanical fields, such as decoration and anticorrosion of car bodies, rims, etc. Pearlescent pigments are applicable to more fields, such as cosmetics, home decoration and handmade products. They have more unique and beautiful visual effects.

How to choose pearlescent pigment supplier

Quality of pearlescent powder

The quality of pearlescent pigments directly affects the use. In the procurement process, suppliers may be required to provide samples to test key indicators, such as the product stability, brightness and color saturation. If conditions permit, a field survey should be conducted to the production processes and quality inspection processes of suppliers, in order to guarantee the product quality.

Types and features of pearlescent powder

Pearlescent pigments are divided into different types, such as bright pearlescent pigments, metallic pearlescent pigments and offset printing pearlescent pigments. Before procurement, it is necessary to understand the features and application scopes of various pearlescent pigments, and choose the right products as needed.

Cost and cost performance

In addition to the product quality, price is also an important factor. A balance between the product quality and price should be comprehensively considered to select suppliers, in order to choose more products with higher cost performance. Many suppliers can be compared to investigate the market and find the most appropriate products.

After-sales service

Before procurement, it is very important to understand suppliers’ after-sales services. Understanding the scope and way of after-sales service is helpful to provide timely support and solutions during use.

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