A classic red, a bright pink, a flirty coral, a mysterious purple, a statement black, or an incognito nude lip – applying lip colour has been standing for independence, femininity and rebellion since the mid-1920s. Thanks to lipstick, some lips, like those of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, were even made unforgettable. (And of course Cliff Richard’s “Lucky Lips”, which are just too catchy to forget.)
Many women admit feeling naked without their lipstick applied and safely tucked into their handbag and ascribe a central role to the pop of colour on their lips, as it, for example, easily transforms a neutral makeup into a dramatic look. What they may not know, however, is that most lipsticks on the market contain ingredients which can cause health issues among many other things.
A Toxic Ingredient in Lipstick
Lead is something you might not have thought you’d find in your lipstick….
The chemical element and toxic metal is legally not allowed for the production of cosmetics and is technically not used as an ingredient by beauty companies either. Rather, just like Arsenic, lead unintendedly appears as a metal impurity developing from (mineral) colour additives or even water used to produce the product.
Lead is found to damage the brain, cause nerve disorders and is even linked breast cancer and fertility problems. Even though experts believe that you would have to eat a product to damage your health and that the mere application of lipstick is therefore rather harmless, it’s still alarming that there may be a remaining risk of lead in lipstick [1].
Since believing isn’t knowing, you may want to avoid running the risk of harming your health with mainstream lipsticks. As a beautiful and equally fun natural lipstick alternative, we tried ESSENTIAL CARE’s Organic Fairtrade Lipstick in “rose parfait” (hop over to our blog to watch Rebecca feature this lipstick in her Wedding Makeup Tutorial). An while you’re already on it, you might also want to check out our review of BAREFACED’s Beauty Mineral Lipsticks, a beautiful range of cruelty-free, vegan lipsticks.
Start your #BeautyRevolution with a bold lip!
Sources:
[1] http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm194557.htm