Cosmetic products containing bismuth

Bismuth is mainly used in the production of alloys especially of those with low melting points. It is applied as catalyst in the production of synthetic textiles, photo- and thermoelectrical parts, ceramics, glasses, and enamels. Pearlescent pigments in cosmetics and paints contain bismuth. Bi2Te3 is used as a peltier element [3-5,8,14]. 

The silver plumbate process has the disadvantage that the button cells do contain a small amount of lead, 1 to 4% of the cell weight. An alternate approach is to use bismuth sulfide in place of the lead sulfide in the material preparation reaction. The product of the reaction has the advantages of the silver plumbate material but without the toxicity of lead. Bismuth is not considered toxic and has many medical and cosmetic applications, being used both externally and internally in the body. ... 

---