Lipstick

I have never been enthusiastic about women that wear lipstick (especially a lot), I guess kissing something greasy is not a turn on for me and that I like a more natural look and feel. Then I saw the meme above and it got me thinking....

Everyone today is all gluten-free-range-organic-not tested on animals-all-natural-no chemical based in their lifestyle or at least they try or pretend to be. So I looked up what is in lipstick (not all), but some and most have some really interesting ingredients and components that go into them.

So lets take a look into what is found in lipsticks, like I said some but not all....

The ingredients of lipstick has to be approved by the FDA, but the amounts and mixtures do not. FDA requirements are a lot looser then most people think, but that is a whole other blog post.

Most lipsticks are wax based and use three different waxes, bees, candelilla, and carnauba (the same stuff we wax our cars with). The wax, by the way, is to hold its shape. Oils are the next ingredients, oils provide some of the shine. Castor, vegetable, mineral oil, and lanolin are the most common oils used. The wax and oils make up 60% of the lipstick.

Now the other stuff involved, pigments and dyes, fragrances, preservatives, and pearl essences. 

Pigments and dyes provide the color of the lipstick. These can range from bismuth oxychloride, manganese violet, titanium dioxide, D&C Red No. 6, D&C Red No. 21, D&C Orange No. 17, to D&C Red No. 34. Fragrances contain alcohol and are used to mask the smell of the other ingredients and as a solvent for the wax and oils. Preservatives and/or antioxidants are added to keep it from going rancid. 

Pearl essence is not made from pearls like the name would suggest. It is actually the scales of herring or other really shiny fish. They have also been known to use silica and mica, also known as rocks.

Other ingredients that are showing up in lipstick are jojoba oil, chamomile oil, Shea butter, along with pigments like turmeric and beetroot extracts, see there is some good stuff in there.

If the above didn't raise questions lets get into the good stuff that is still approved by the FDA to be in lipstick. 

• Lead: some contain small amounts of lead (there is a limit, but it is still allowed).
• Coal tar derived coloring:  a number of red dyes are made from coal tar.
• Carmine: color made by boiling cochineal scale insect, yes, bugs.
• Lake colors: pigments that are made from aluminum, barium, potassium, and strontium.

So there you have it, Bon Appetite!