EVALUATION OF SOME SELECTED COSMETIC POWDERS OF TALCUM COMPOSITION FOR BACTERIAL AND FUNGI OF CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The desire to wear a charming, customized and captivating look like a fashion ambassador does not comes easily, but with a tag attached. Consciously or unconsciously, cosmetic powders have cast a spell over culture throughout century and its possible health implications on the consistent wearers remain a subject of controversy. This study solely aimed at evaluating bacteria load and fungi presence in some selected talcum composed powder and compare, if it had exceeded standard threshold of microbial load capable of causing infection.

A stock solution was prepared by dissolving exactly 1 gram of each sample into 9 ml of sterile distilled water and was diluted in 10-fold serially. Selected dilution factors (10^-3, 10^-5, 10^-7) were subculture on bacteriological media for the isolation of bacteria and fungi of clinical significance. The pH of each powder was determined by weighing 3gram into 10mL of sterile distilled water and were measured with handheld pH meter. Macroscopic and microscopic identification of mould isolates was done by placing pieces of a colony from Saboraud Dextrose Agar to clean microscopic slide and thereafter stained with lactophenol -in -cotton blue. A cover slip was placed on each preparation, followed by observation under the objective lens of Olympus microscope. Distinct similarly looking representative isolates were harvested for Gram reactions, followed by conventional biochemical characterization for confirmation.

Variation in pH range between 3.2 and 5.2 were recorded, the average bacteria count obtained from all the powder sampled range between 3.5×10⁸ and 8.3×10⁸ which exceeded 1×10³ microbiology threshold standard for cosmetic powders. Rhizopus spp, Candida spp and Epidermophyton spp were also isolated. Conclusion: There is need for regular testing of these products to assure safety compliance and promote awareness on the potential harmful effects of using microbial-laden powder on users.