How to choose lipstick that is safe for your health
On International Lipstick Day, we'll tell you how to choose the safest – one that does not contain dangerous chemicals and harmful dyes that cause an allergic reaction.
The history of lipstick is as old as the history of mankind itself. She was the first beauty product invented by mankind. The ancient Egyptians learned how to mix lipstick from red ocher and fat even before they began to line their eyes. Today we don't have to do it manually. But, as in ancient times, the question remains – is it safe what we put on our lips? How to choose lipstick for lips that will not harm the body, we will tell in this material.
"Poisoned Kiss"
According to statistics, most women “eat" at least 2.5 tubes of lipstick per year. We do not do this on purpose, but this does not negate the worries about our health. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted a study, intriguingly titled "Poisoned Kiss", to find out if lipsticks and lip glosses contain lead, one of the most unhealthy ingredients.
Studies have shown that 61% of lipsticks on the world market contain between 0.03 and 0.65 parts per million (ppm) of lead. Surely, here you would like to know what is the safe concentration of lead in lipstick. But it is not there: the ingress of lead into the body in any amount harms it. And lead isn't the only carcinogen found in lipstick. A recent report from the University of California confirmed that lipsticks contain at least eight other types of toxic heavy metals, including chromium, cadmium and aluminum.
Why do you never find indications of the content of toxic metals on the packaging? Because they are not intentionally added: they are found in coloring pigments and other components of lipstick, and therefore cosmetic brands may not even know about them if the raw material manufacturer does not make such information available.
How to choose lipstick for lips: 5 safety rules when buying
As for lead, the debate about how harmful it is in the amount found in lipstick is still ongoing. For example, 1 kg of fresh seafood contains 10 times more of it than 1 tube of lipstick. But still, dermatologists insist that if you have the opportunity to choose a lipstick with the safest and purest composition, then it is better to refuse suspicious purchases.
It is also important to consider the following aspects when choosing a safe lipstick:
- Give preference to products with proven dyes in the composition. For example, betacyanin pigment, which is found in beets, can make harmless lipstick with a red or wine tint, and works as a natural antioxidant;
- Avoid lipsticks with non-organic castor oil in the composition. By itself, it is safe, but it increases the permeability of other cosmetic components, which exacerbates their harmful effects;
- Do not buy lipstick with a rancid smell: it can be associated not only with an expired expiration date, but also with a violation of the recipe for the production of cosmetics;
- …and silicone resin content. It acts as a film former, disrupting normal breathability.