One cosmetic product that many women use, and perhaps throughout the entire day, is lipstick. While lipstick can make a woman’s face and especially her lips more appealing, most commercial brands of lipstick are toxic, poisonous, and harmful.
Lead in lipstick
It has been revealed that many brands of lipstick contain lead, more amounts of which are allowed by government for use in candy. FDA-approval does not guarantee safety or that a product is automatically safe to consume or use. It is a fact that cosmetic products are one of the least regulated product categories by the FDA.
A woman who applies lipstick is also ingesting some of it during or throughout the day. If she likes reapplying lipstick throughout the day, that much more lead gets into her bloodstream via the skin of her lips. Lead is not added as an ingredient in the lipstick manufacturing process, but it comes from the colorant used, or is the by-product of the lipstick making process.
Even small amounts of lead can lead to unsafe levels of lead exposure over time. Lead is a neurotoxin, adversely affecting the nerves, that can cause brain damage and behavioral, learning, and language problems; it can lower IQ or intelligence quotient, can cause hormonal imbalance, can delay the onset of puberty; it can cause infertility and miscarriage, and it increases aggression.
Petrochemicals in lipstick
Lipstick manufacturers are also using petrochemicals to manufacture lipstick. Petrochemicals are harmful to human health. This is why it is important to research the brand’s ingredients before making your purchase. Many lipstick brands contain very harmful ingredients, besides lead, which can include:
- Formaldehyde: a preservative and known carcinogen
- Mineral oil: a substance known to block pores
- Parabens: known carcinogens used as a preservative.
- Bismuth oxychloride: a known carcinogen
Natural or not?
It is common to find ingredients for natural lipstick such as: Aloe Vera Extract, Beeswax, Candellila Wax, Carmine, Carnauba Wax, Castor Oil, Cocoa Butter, Hempseed Oil, Iron Oxide, Jojoba Oil, Lanolin, Mica, Shea Butter, Titanium Oxide, Tocopherol, and Ultramarine(s) to name a few, but you need to know that every ingredient in a product labeled “natural” may not harmonize with your belief system, conscience, diet, and/or lifestyle.
For example, Carmine (the only alternative to Red Lake petroleum dye) is just like Cochineal and is derived from an insect and thus is not a vegan ingredient.
Beeswax (which is derived from bees) and Lanolin (which is derived from sheep) are also not vegan products.
People who are vegans cannot use or consume these ingredients, so while a lipstick brand may purport to be natural, it will nevertheless not be vegan in nature.
Mica, Titanium Dioxide, and Iron Oxide are suspect and implicated in minor adverse health conditions, especially Titanium Dioxide. Iron Oxide is the safest of these ingredients.
Tocopherol a/k/a Vitamin E is really a soybean oil byproduct. Most Vitamin E today is a by-product of soy production.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
