LUSCIOUSLY STUNNING!

         Ever wondered what’s a girl’s best friend or what can’t you leave home or do without, or the secret to Stunning & Outstanding lips? Lipstick’s the answer! That’s right, as synonym as it sounds but we have Queen Elizabeth the 1st and Cleopatra to thank for bringing about the birth of this product where they used cochineal (red carmine dye) which was made by boiling up cochineal beetles to boost their seductive charms. This product has revolutionized over time and is now mainly made up of a mixture of chemicals.

       Various brands & types are available in the market but what goes into the making of lipstick are basically the same which can be divided into 5 major groups, namely; 

Wax	Enables the mixture to be molded into that recognizable lipstick shape.
Pigments & dyes	Provides various colour shades. They can be a soluble dye which stains the lips and insoluble dyes and pigments will only coat the lips surface.
Oils & Fats	To give it a strong, shiny film when it dries up after usage as well as to keep the lips soft, moisturized, and protected.
Fragrance	To disguise the odour of the fatty base used as well as to impart a pleasant scent to the lipstick.
Alcohol	Used as a solvent, mainly for the wax and oils used to deter these two ingredients from forming two layers
Preservatives & Antioxidants	Keep the lipstick fresh and prevent it from becoming rancid

       In general, by weight, wax and oil make up about 60 % of the lipstick, with alcohol and pigment accounting for the other 25 %. Fragrance only accounts for one percent or less of the mixture.

Now, coming to the dark hidden secrets of this beauty product would be the harmful ingredients classified as:

1) Lead- Pigments used to make red lipstick

2) Coal-tar derived C&D colouring – Due to the colorants D&C (petroleum-based dye),

3) Carmine - A natural food coloring agent

4) Lake colours - Highly toxic artificial coloring agents 


A Brief Overview Of the Manufacturing Process is as Pictured below but do check out the video for a more Detailed Process Flow!

   

   

       A point to note here is that for brands that claim their lipstick stays on longer means that the content of lead is higher. This can be determined by a very simple test by putting some on your hand then rubbing it with a gold ring, if it turns black, then the theory has proven itself.  

       Due to the harmful substances used to make this product, it poses threats to our health where the major effect can be attributed to Lead as it is cancer causing.

       To draw a conclusion, do not be fooled into thinking that the expensive ones are better than the cheaper ones because their basic ingredients are very much the same because through a test, it was found that well known labels such L'Oreal, Cover Girl and Christian Dior had higher than the permitted level of harmful substances.


       A woman consumes up to 4 pounds of lipstick in a lifetime, so will you choose health over beauty or are you willing to pay the price for luscious lips?