Material & Science

Upsalite® is a patented mesoporous magnesium carbonate — the world's first porous form of the mineral — discovered at Uppsala University in Sweden. A network of tiny internal pores gives a single gram 300–500 m² of internal surface area, letting it absorb oil and moisture at the same time and scatter light for a soft-focus finish. Here's the science in brief — and where to go deeper.

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Where is Upsalite^® used?

A material once thought impossible

Upsalite® was created in 2012 by researchers at Uppsala University — a stable, porous magnesium carbonate the scientific community had believed for over a century couldn't be made. Today it is patented, award-winning, and produced by Disruptive Materials for use in cosmetics, personal care and sports. As Professor Maria Strømme, who led the discovery, described it, the team had synthesised a material "previously claimed impossible to make".

The science, in brief

Upsalite®'s performance comes from its structure.

Surface area — 300–500 m² per gram, among the highest measured for any alkaline-earth-metal carbonate
Pore size — a narrow distribution in the 2–8 nm range
Oil absorption — more than its own weight: on average 1.2 g per gram, against roughly 0.5 for talc
Speed — saturates in about five minutes, where silica takes closer to an hour
Dual absorption — takes up oil and moisture at the same time, and scatters light for a soft-focus effect with strong adhesion to skin
Compliance — Natural Origin Index 0.99–1.00 (ISO 16128), COSMOS approved, made without microplastics, and not a nanomaterial under EU or US regulations

Comparison table, the electron-microscope images and the full science are available on Upsalite.com →

Common questions such as formulation compatibility, regulatory status, sampling and more are answered in the Upsalite® FAQ →

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