Lipstick: What could be its health implications?

The wearing of lipstick is a common practice amongst many women. Lipstick wearing involves its application on the lips, a common route to the gastrointestinal tract where food digestion and absorption occurs. Poisonous substances can also easily get into the body through the mouth. Lipstick applied on the lips could mix with food while eating. Invariably, most lipsticks are often consumed with or without food. To clearly understand if there is any health implication(s) for wearing lipstick, let us examine what ingredients are used for making them.

There are three basic ingredients in the production of lipstick. These are wax, oil and pigments. The wax provides shape and modifies the texture while the oil modifies the intensity and facilitate easy application. Various types of wax could be used in making lipstick. Bee wax, carnauba wax, candelilla wax, ceresin, microcrystalline wax, and so on, could be used in lipstick production. The wax is usually melted and mixed with other components. Also, different types of oil are used for lipstick production, including, castor oil, shear butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, coconut oil, avocado butter, sweat almond oil, lanolin oil, petrolatum. The choice of oil or other components used is totally dependent on each manufacturer.

Pigments added to lipstick improves the appearance. Both carbon-based (organic pigments) and non-carbon-based pigments (inorganic pigments) could be used in lipstick. Example of organic pigments may include lake; Aluminum and Calcium lakes. Lake pigments are made by precipitating a dye with a metallic salt. Some of the inorganic pigments are Titanium dioxide, Iron oxides, Bismuth oxychloride and Mica. These components in addition to fragrances and other unmentioned components may be used to make lipstick.

Although most of these products should be tested and certified by relevant regulatory bodies, users of lipstick should be aware of the various components of what they use. Several opinions suggest that lipsticks made from plant-based ingredients (natural lipstick) are safer for use. But the possibility of some conventional lipstick containing some dangerous ingredients is high. Some colorants could be ladened with many metals like lead, aluminum, cadmium, and other metals.  Unrefined or poorly refined petrolatum has been known to contain toxic chemicals referred to as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are carcinogenic in nature.

Poisoning with heavy metal could result in several organ damages and could impair normal development of babies in pregnant women. Other components like Bismuth oxychloride could also increase the risk of cancer, while some PAHs can cause varying degrees of inflammations and allergies. Note that both natural and synthetic components are capable of causing allergies in some individuals.

The decision to use lipstick is your choice to make and so also is the type of lipstick you use. With the increasing economic woes in several countries of the world, cheaper ingredients which may be used to replace more costly ones may constitute major health concerns. Although cheaper prices may not always reflect the quality of the product, users of lipstick should endeavor to verify and patronize good brands, and also ensure that you examine the ingredients used in making the lipstick. Although it is the role of each country’s regulatory body to evaluate each product before marketing approval, you should safeguard your health by using the right product(s) and ensuring that it contains the right component(s)

The melting, mixing and molding of lipstick components require appropriate hygienic measures. Where a lipstick is contaminated by microbes, it could also constitute major health risks.