Perfumed talcum powder is used by a large number of people throughout the world to protect the skin from heat during the hot summer months. It gives a soothing effect to the skin. Do you know what this talcum powder is?
It is a fine perfumed powder made from mineral called talc. Talc is the softest mineral known to man. When it is in solid form, it is called soapstone and is usually grayish or greenish in colour, and very soft and greasy to touch. Often it has brown spots. To make talcum, white-coloured soapstone is first ground to a very fine powder. Then this powder is sieved to remove the coarse grains. Desired scents are added to this sieved powder. Finally it is packed in tin or plastic containers for sale.
One of the remarkable features of talc is its simple, almost constant composition. It is basically magnesium silicate. Soapstone is often used in the making of household articles because it resists heat and can easily be shaped. Cooking utensils and parts of stoves are sometimes made from it. It is also used in the making of laundry tubs. As soapstone hardens at high temperatures, it is also used for lining furnaces. As it cannot easily be eaten away, slabs of this material are used for acid tanks in the laboratories. It is a poor conductor of electricity and for this reason is used as a base for switch boards and electrical insulation.
The best quality talc comes from Italy. Its deposits are found in England, Canada, Germany and Rhodesia. The Atlantic Coast has more talc than all the other countries of the world. About three quarters of the talc processed in the West goes into the manufacture of paints, glazed tiles, ceramic products, paper and rubber.