For Cindy Luken, adding lead, parabens and aluminium to lipstick doesn’t make sense when you can make your lips soft and sweet with natural and organic ingredients.
Is lipstick harmful for your health?
The Food scientist and founder of Lük Beautifood says she decided to enter the cosmetics industry after realising she had no idea what was in the products she put on her skin.
“I thought, I don’t know what’s in these products! And we are putting them on our lips and digesting them.”
Before launching Lük Beautifood, Cindy says she went to work learning about all the different ingredients in lipstick.
“I learned about the different dry oils, wet oils. Whether it absorbs whether it didn’t absorb and worked on that,” Cindy says.
“And I just decided, I’m going to make the creamiest, smoothest, yummiest lipstick. That is just sheer, and that can go in my pocket, and I can wear it all the time, and it is not makeup-y. And honestly, that’s what I did.”
How to tell if a lipstick is ‘clean’ and free from harmful chemicals?
Cindy says to find out what chemicals are hiding in your lipstick, “start by reading the ingredients – if you can.”
“It can be tough because they often have scientific-sounding names.”
Additionally, The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is dedicated to providing research and education about products, including cosmetics. Their Skin Deep online toxicity guide is a great place to search your cosmetics for nasty ingredients.
What harmful ingredients are found in lipstick?
Microplastics
“We know the environmental concerns of plastics, but recent studies show that microplastics are showing up in human bodies and even baby poo!” says Cindy.
“We don’t know the long-term effects of microplastics in our system or where they end up.”
CHOICE has an excellent guide for determining if your lipstick has microplastics in it. Read it here.
Petroleum
Lipsticks are made up of oils, fats and waxes, some of which are derived from petroleum.
You can also find petroleum in synthetic dyes. “Artificial and Lake Colours (FD + C) colourings are derived from coal tar (petroleum), and some are believed to be carcinogenic,” says Cindy.
According to Lük Beautifood’s list of dirty words, other petroleum-based ingredients to avoid include: “Paraffin wax, Mineral oil, Toluene, Benzene, Polyethylene glycol (PEG), Diethanolamine (DEA) and Ethanolamine (MEA), Butanol and any word with butyl: butyl alcohol, butylparaben, butylene glycol, Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), Propylene glycol, Ethoxylated ingredients, and Synthetic parfum or fragrance.”
Heavy metals
If the colour of your lipstick doesn’t occur naturally, then it will either be animal based or synthetic. This is especially so with bright red lipstick.
When you read the word ‘lake’ in an ingredient list, it means the colours are man-made. The EWG says “The term ‘lake’ is applied to pigments or dyes that are precipitated with metal salts such as aluminum, calcium, barium, or others. Most lake pigments are synthetically produced from coal tar or petroleum.”
Parabens
Parabens are used as a preservative in cosmetic products. The EWG says, “Long-chain parabens (isobutyl-, butyl-, isopropyl- and propylparaben) should not be used in personal care or cosmetic products.”
Animal products
For vegans, you might want to avoid something called Carmine, which is found in lots of red lipsticks and is derived from crushed insects. This ingredient is listed in the PETA’s Caring Consumer guide as a substance of animal origin.
Another ingredient to watch out for in lipstick is Lanolin oil – a product of the oil glands of sheep, which PETA says is extracted from their wool.
How to read the back of the lipstick label
Forget about the marketing on the front and cast your eyes on the list of ingredients that should be on the back of the packaging. If it’s not, you will be able to find it on the brand’s website.
Firstly, ingredients have to be listed in order of the largest quantity to the smallest. After that, ingredients that make up less than 1% of the product will be listed. Lastly, you will see the colour additives used.
So whatever ingredients appear first, they are going to be the ones that make up most of the lipstick.
If you are really wanting to get the bottom of what’s in your cosmetics, the best place to start is the EWG website.
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