Table of contents:
- Be aware of the chemicals in your lipstick
- So, how do you choose a lipstick that is good for health?
- Unhealthy content in lipstick that you should avoid
- We recommend that you look for natural ingredients, such as ...
- Which must be considered when choosing a lipstick
Are you curious about what your lipstick is made of? Most women almost never seem to know that the lipstick they use often contains many harmful chemicals, especially lead. Even so, you don't worry. Because you can protect yourself by choosing a lipstick that is safe for everyday use. How to? Check out the tips for choosing a lipstick that is good for health in this article.
Be aware of the chemicals in your lipstick
Before explaining how to choose lipstick, it's a good idea to know in advance the chemical content in lipstick. Not all lipsticks contain harmful chemicals. However, studies in recent years have shown that the use of metals in lipstick compositions is common.
In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted tests on 33 different lipstick products to identify hazardous ingredients. As a result, 61% of the lipstick products studied were detected to contain lead with levels varying from 0.03 ppm to 0.65 ppm. Although the content is still relatively small, lead is still a dangerous chemical substance.
Researchers estimate that the average use of lipstick by women is 2 times per day. In fact, in some women, the frequency can reach 10 times per day. One use of lipstick will spread 10 milligrams of the product on the lips, and most of it will be swallowed. Meanwhile, women who use lipstick or lip gloss multiple times can ingest up to 87 milligrams of the product per day. This shows that some women generally have exceeded the normal limit of consumption of aluminum, cadmium, chromium and manganese by 100% just from the use of lipstick they use daily.
So, how do you choose a lipstick that is good for health?
With so many choices of types, textures, and colors, basically, all lipsticks are made from waxes, oils, other additives, and pigments that color and moisturize the lips. These additives that you should start paying attention to before deciding to buy a new lipstick.
Unhealthy content in lipstick that you should avoid
- Petroleum-based moisturizers, such as kerosene.
- Artificial fragrances, which are usually listed in the composition section as "aroma", "natural aroma", or "perfume".
- Artificial, petroleum-based wax that forms the lipstick. Types of candles to avoid include paraffin and ozokerite.
- Synthetic preservatives such as formaldehyde, BHT and parabens.
- Artificial dyes. In the US, these dyes are usually listed on the label with the FC&C or D&C code, or the name of the color followed by a number. For example: D&C Red 21 or Red 21.
- Also avoid mineral content that has been "micronized" into nanoparticles.
We recommend that you look for natural ingredients, such as…
- Plant-based moisturizers, such as shea butter, chocolate, avocado oil, and aloe vera.
- Healthy vegetable oils such as castor oil, chamomile oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil.
- Natural wax ingredients such as candelilla, carnauba, or beeswax.
- Natural fragrances or flavorings, such as vanilla and peppermint extract.
- Natural preservatives, such as vitamin E, tea leaf oil, neem oil, and cinnamon.
- Natural lip color produced from extracts of fruits, vegetables and other vegetable ingredients, such as turmeric, beets, purple carrots, berries, pomegranate and calendula.
- Titanium dioxide, iron oxide and mica are all safe mineral dyes. Look for words like "non-nanoparticles" or "not micronized to nanoparticles" on the label.
Which must be considered when choosing a lipstick
You should take precautions to protect yourself from overexposure to lip color products. If you find that you use lipstick up to 14 times a day, you should use less or find other alternatives. Some organic lipsticks like the ones mentioned above are made from beeswax and botanical oils. If you don't want to use an animal-based lipstick, look for the words “vegan,” cruelty-free ”or“ no animal testing ”on the lipstick's packaging label.
Remember, don't be fooled by the word "organic". Organic lipsticks may still have synthetic ingredients in them, unless they are labeled 100% organic.
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