Titanium dioxide can be both safe and unsafe, depending on its use. When inhaled, titanium dioxide is considered possibly carcinogenic to humans. This means that in products that contain powdered titanium dioxide like loose powders, pressed powders, eyeshadows, and blushes in which the makeup is in powder form, titanium dioxide can be inhaled. Titanium dioxide is also an occupational chemical of concern, as workers might inhale titanium dioxide when manufacturing products.

The European Commission banned titanium dioxide as a food additive in the EU in 2022 after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducted an updated safety assessment of E171 and concluded the panel could not eliminate concerns about its genotoxicity. 

Titanium dioxide, or TiO2, sometimes referred to as E171, is an inorganic, solid substance used in a wide range of consumer goods including cosmetics, paint, plastic and food, according to the American Chemistry Council.