Soft to the skin, yet tough on microbes, these are surprising traits exhibited by an extremely fine glass powder from Schott Glas, Mainz, Germany. To make the bioactive glass, silicon, calcium, sodium and phosphorus of high purity are ground down to form a fine powder. All of these elements already can be found in the human body, which perhaps explains why the body tolerates them so well. Bioactive glass could play a major role in the making of cosmetics, as an active ingredient of deodorants, for example. In addition to the other positive effects it has on body tissue, the glass powder eliminates the bacteria that cause body odour. Schott has entered into a partnership with Englehard Corp., a leading US supplier to the cosmetics industry. (whole item)
