"Non-nano" shows up on a lot of mineral makeup labels, often without much explanation attached. It sounds technical, and it is, but the concept itself is simple once you break it down.
What "non-nano" actually measures
Non-nano refers to the physical size of individual particles in an ingredient, specifically whether those particles are larger than 100 nanometers. A nanometer is a unit so small it is hard to picture. For reference, a single sheet of paper is roughly 100,000 nanometers thick. Particles at the nano scale are small enough to behave differently than larger ones, including how they sit on and interact with skin.
Which ingredients it applies to
This is the part that gets confused most often. Non-nano is a claim about two specific ingredients: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Both are commonly used in mineral makeup and mineral sunscreens, and both can be manufactured at either a nano or non-nano particle size depending on how the ingredient is processed.
Non-nano does not describe mica, iron oxides, sericite, kaolin, or any of the other minerals used in makeup formulas. Those ingredients are not typically classified this way, so a non-nano claim on a product label does not tell you anything about them specifically. If a brand says a formula is non-nano, it is worth knowing exactly which ingredient that claim is attached to.
Why particle size matters here
When zinc oxide or titanium dioxide particles are larger than 100 nanometers, they are generally understood to sit on the surface of the skin rather than being absorbed into it. Smaller, nano-sized particles behave differently, which is part of why the size distinction gets called out on labels in the first place.
Where you'll actually see this claim
Because non-nano specifically concerns zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, the claim shows up most often on products that use meaningful amounts of one or both. Foundation, concealer, and finishing powders are common examples, since titanium dioxide plays a role in giving these formulas their opacity and coverage. You can see this in practice in our Mineral Powder Foundation, where titanium dioxide is one of the primary ingredients.
Not every mineral product needs this claim. A shade with no zinc oxide or titanium dioxide in the formula simply has nothing for the claim to apply to, and that is not a downside. It just means the term is not relevant to that particular product.
If you want to go deeper on how one of these two minerals actually works in a formula, our earlier piece on titanium dioxide covers where it comes from and why it shows up in so many products.
How to check this yourself
If you want to check this for yourself on any product, the ingredient list is the place to look, not the front-of-package marketing. Non-nano is typically stated directly next to zinc oxide or titanium dioxide in the ingredients, sometimes in parentheses. If you do not see either ingredient listed at all, a non-nano claim would not apply, regardless of what the packaging says elsewhere. A label that is specific about which ingredient is non-nano, rather than making a vague blanket statement, is generally the more trustworthy one.
The takeaway
Non-nano is a precise, narrow term, not a general marketing word. It tells you something specific about particle size in zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, and it is not a stand-in for "natural" or "clean" more broadly. Reading a label for what it actually says, rather than what it implies, is the best way to understand any mineral makeup formula, ours included.
