Oxides and ultramarines are commonly used as a colorant in many skin care products such as soaps, lotions, shampoos, make-up etc. They were originally natural minerals and clays mined from the earth, but there was one big problem- in the same earth came arsenic, lead, and mercury, just to name a few. These toxic metals were obviously a great risk to the public until the FDA created regulations that had these minerals manufactured in a lab. On a molecular basis they are the very same thing, only synthetically produced so now you can have the assurance that they're non-toxic. Today, in the United States, only the "cosmetic grade" synthetic versions of these minerals are legal to be used in cosmetic and personal care products.

This is one of those rare instances that goes to show that natural is not always safer. Nowadays it seems like almost everything can be a potential danger in one form or another and there's many with very strong views on subjects based on the entire natural verses synthetic debate. When it comes down to it in the very end, there's not much we can do about entirely wiping out synthetic products from our lives because of the lifestyles we've evolved into. All you can do is be smart and do some research on the products you purchase to find your own balance of what's best for our health, environment, and our pockets.