Thursday, July 1, 2010

LOVE THE LIPS


Cosmetic or make-up is something which woman now use frequently and even men. lipstick is one of the small part of make-up where is to moisten the lips or make it smacking red for appearance purposes. But they did not know that lipstick contain a lot of lead content which can cause a slow death by consuming it each time they apply. It was mention that 22 out of the 33 brand name lipsticks tested by an advocacy group recently were above the limits set for lead content in sweets by the FDA.

Lipstick doesn't have much of a proper chemical formula as it is a mixture. it mostly depends on the brand actually,it can either cause cancer, alter the hormonal structure and contain lead.

The lipstick composition, wherein said wax is selected from the group consisting of candelilla, carnauba, ozokerite, ceresin, white beeswax, yellow beeswax paraffin and petroleum-derived waxes. It is selected from the group consisting of mineral oil, olive oil, castor oil, lanolin oil, sesame oil, persic oil, soybean oil, squalene, and fatty esters. It is to having improved protection and moisturization for the lips, compromising 12% to 16% of a cosmetically acceptable wax, 50% to 70% of a cosmetically acceptable oil, 8% to 16% colorants, 8% to 14% of cetearyl isononanoate, 1% to 5% of sesquistearates selected from the group consisting of methyl glucose sesquistearate and sorbitan sesquistearate and mixtures thereof, and 5% to 15% of isopropyl hydroxystearate. It has aestethic performance of regular lipstick but is more effective as it soothes and protects the lips.

Cetearly Isononanoate is the ester of Cetearly Alcohol and a branches chain nonanoicacid. It acts as a plasticizer or wax softener which provide a smooth application enhance the composition to remain pliable on the lips.


The Sesquistearates provides like a "fine tuning" of the lipstick application and thus further plasticizing the wax and enhance it's spreadibility. it is usually selected from Methyl Glucose Sesquistearates or either Sorbitan Sesquistearates. The pictures below is the chemical structure of Methyl Glucose Sesquistearates.




Isopropyl Hydroxystearate provide as a pigment wetting means and emollient which enhance colour development and of course protect the lips.




Paraffin a form of wax contain in the lipstick.The wax forms a supporting medium that suspend the oil and colourant.




example of oils, the soybean oil may also frequently used in lipstick.


From 0.03 parts per million to 0.65 parts per million was the range of levels of Lead found in those 22 brand name lipsticks. Lead on lips can lead to lead toxicity. A lipstick that gives a bright colour to the lips may contain significant amounts of lead. Don't be mislead by the glow of the lipstick and chemical-free lipstick of possible.

As reported by the consumer magazine CERS, this few brands are reported as high lead content; Revlon, Elle 18, L’Oreal, Streetwear, Lakme, Maybelline etc.

Apparently the highest lead content ever found was Maybelline 09 Water shine Liquid Diamond lip-gloss which has 12 parts per million!

The level of lead in a lipstick can only be measured in laboratory. On an average a woman digest 2 kg of lipstick in her life time! The intake of the harmful chemical in the lipstick, lead, over time affects the woman. At the pregnancy state the intake of this chemical easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetus brain. This further affects in the development of the child.

Why was lipstick judged by the sweet limits? Well because in fact there are no limits set for lead content in lipsticks.

This means that the lipstick could be practically a soft bar of coloured lead!

As a matter of fact, since when was the last time you saw a list of ingredients and concentrations on any lipstick, ever?

Does anyone really read the label content on the lipstick?

But the research by CERS has revealed another truth. The labeling part which is mandatory was missing. Even batch number, license number was not printed. Almost 90 per cent of the lipsticks were not carrying the expiry date which is really very important for each buyer to see before buying anything. Such ignorance we are that we do not look at the list before we purchase the items.




special gratitude to:

1. Technospot. In, 2010, lipstick. Available from: http://www.technospot.in/beware-of-the-side-effect-of-lipstick/ [Accessed on 27th July 2010]

2. wikipedia,2010, Lipstick. Available from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipstick. [Accessed on 27th July 2010]

3. Helium, 2010, Health Risk of Using Lipstick. Available from: http://www.helium.com/items/650702-the-health-risks-of-using-lipstick [Accessed on 28th July 2010]

4. Free Patents Online, 2010, Lipstick Compostion. Available from: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5093111.html [Accessed on 28th July 2010]

5. Rodale, 2009, Lead in Lipstick. Available from: http://www.rodale.com/lead-lipstick. [Accessed on 29th July 2010]

6. Bitch Magazine, 2010, Beauty Secrets. Available from: http://bitchmagazine.org/article/beauty-secrets' [Accessed on 29th July 2010]

7. Beauty Haven, 2008, Lead in your Lipstick. Available from:http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/article/dangerous-levels-of-lead-in-lipsticks-causing-cancer [Accessed on 30th July 2010]


No comments:

Post a Comment