Ingredients of lipsticks: from safe to those that need to be avoided

Lipstick is one of the tools makeup which must be owned and carried anywhere. Without lipstick, it feels like your appearance will be less than optimal. Yes, with a touch of lipstick on your lips, your appearance will change to be more colorful and beautiful. Not surprisingly, almost all cosmetic fans like lipsticks and have a collection of lipsticks in various colors. So, what is the content of lipstick? What ingredients should be present in your lipstick so that your lips are healthier?

The three basic ingredients of lipstick

Almost all types of lipstick actually contain three basic ingredients, namely wax, oil and pigment.

• Candle in lipstick serves to give the shape and texture of the lipstick that spreads on your lips. Lipstick type matte has more wax content. So that this type of lipstick can cover the entire color of your lips and look together on the lips. Usually, the types of wax that are mostly found in lipstick are beeswax, candelilla wax, or camauba (which are more expensive).
• Oil in lipstick serves to provide moisture to the lips. In addition, oil also functions to change the density of the lipstick. Examples of the usual oil content in lipstick are petrolatum, lanolin, cocoa butter, 4 rows of natural ingredients that can effectively remove wrinkles on the face, castor oil, and mineral oil.
• Pigment is what gives color to the lipstick. The less oil content in the lipstick makes the lipstick pigment richer and more striking. Therefore, the color of the lipstick becomes thicker when the lipstick is applied to the lips. Meanwhile, the more oil content in the lipstick makes the color of the lipstick less thick. As a result, you may have to apply lipstick multiple times to your lips until you get the color you want.

Well, for those of you who have dry lips, a lipstick with more oil content might be suitable for you, for example a type of lipstick sheer . The high oil content in lipstick can provide moisture to the lips, so you avoid dry and chapped lips.

Meanwhile, the type of lipstick matte, may not suit you with dry lips. Lipstick type matte indeed admired by many women because the color is thicker. However, it tends to dry out your lips due to their less oil content.

Other lipstick content

Apart from these three basic ingredients, lipstick also contains fragrances, preservatives, antioxidants, and sometimes heavy metals. However, this content of course varies between lipsticks depending on the manufacturer who made the lipstick.

1. Fragrance

Fragrance or perfume is used to make the lipstick smell more attractive, so it doesn't smell rancid like oil.

2. Preservatives

Preservatives are used to make the lipstick last longer and protect the lipstick from bacterial growth. However, avoid lipsticks that contain parabens as preservatives. This is because parabens are proven to be harmful to your health.

Research conducted by the University of Reading in the UK shows that there are high concentrations of parabens in human breast tumors. Indeed, parabens do not directly cause cancer. However, parabens can interfere with the production of the hormone estrogen in the body and this can affect the development of breast cancer in women.

3. Antioxidants

The antioxidant content in the lipstick also functions to make the lipstick last longer and always fresh. Also, antioxidants can help nourish and provide moisture to the lips.

Usually, antioxidants are obtained from vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin C which are added to lipstick. However, for those of you who are pregnant, you should avoid lipsticks that contain vitamin A. This is because vitamin A in lipsticks can pose a dangerous risk to pregnant women and their fetuses.

3. Metal

Metal is also widely added in lipstick. A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives shows that many brands of lipsticks and lip gloss contain various types of metals. For example aluminum, titanium, manganese, chromium, cadmium, cobalt, copper and nickel.

Aluminum is used to keep the color of the lipstick from overflowing the lip line. Titanium oxide is used as a bleach. This is to change the red lipstick color to pink. Meanwhile, the remaining metal may not be necessary.

However, as much as possible avoid lipsticks that contain lead (Pb). Lead has been shown to cause cancer if it accumulates a lot in the body. Many countries have banned the use of lead in cosmetics, not only in lipstick. However, it would be nice if you check the lipstick content again before buying it. There may still be lipstick manufacturers who add lead to their products.

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