Talc is a common ingredient in cosmetics and body powders for women. Used commonly for personal hygiene, the product is a common household staple.

Talcum powder is made from a soft mineral called hydrous magnesium silicate, which is crushed, dried, and then milled. The most common usage is baby powder.

Baby powder is often used for absorbing moisture and reducing friction, thereby preventing skin irritation. Additional baby powder uses for women include personal hygiene and reducing occasional vaginal odor. The product is also used in facial cosmetics and in feminine sanitary products.

Despite the popularity of baby powder uses for women, significant questions about its safety are circulating. Most notably, talc-based products, such as baby powder and body powders for women, have been linked to an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

Talcum Powder for Women May Be Harmful

Several studies indicate that the use of talcum powder for women for regular feminine hygiene purposes increases the risk of developing ovarian cancer. Testimony in a baby powder cancer lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson suggests that talc powder may be responsible for as many as 10,000 cases of ovarian cancer each year.

Evidence about a possible link between the use of talc-containing body powders for women and ovarian cancer has been around for years. An analysis of data from 16 studies published before 2003 found about a 30 percent increase in ovarian cancer risk among talc users; in 2008, researchers studied more than 3,000 women and found using talc just once a week increased the risk of cancer by 36 percent and daily use produced a 40 percent increased risk.

The increased risk of ovarian cancer when talc is used in the genital area may be caused by talc particles traveling into a woman’s body. The particles cause inflammation, which creates an environment that allows cancer cells to thrive.

Because talc particles can remain in the body for an extended period of time, conditions may be ripe for cancer to grow for several years. In fact, some experts estimate that one particle of talc would take eight years to dissolve.

Studies of talc’s impact go back to a British study in 1971. Researchers reported then that microscopic analysis of 13 ovarian tumors found talc particles in 10 of them. Several other studies followed in the early 1980s in the United States and Europe and suggested that women who use talc feminine hygiene products may have up to a 35 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer than women who don’t those products.

But findings have been mixed and researchers don’t have a clear mechanism that might lead talc to cause ovarian cancer.

Baby Powder Cancer Lawsuits

Many body powders for women do not contain talc and are instead manufactured with a cornstarch base and are just as effective.  However, a number of talcum powder products are in the marketplace. Many of the products containing talcum powder for women are manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, including the popular Shower to Shower body powder.

However, many women who suffered ovarian cancer have now filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, arguing that the products containing talcum powder for women, like Shower to Shower, led to their ovarian cancers and that the company should have warned them.

One baby powder cancer lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson went to trial and a jury gave its verdict in 2013, concurring with the plaintiff who claimed that her ovarian cancer was caused by years of talc powder use for feminine hygiene and that the company knew of the potential link.