Lipstick is a staple to almost every woman’s makeup routine. In fact, it’s been reported that the average woman consumes anywhere from 4–9 pounds (yes, POUNDS!) of lipstick in their lifetime! If you aren’t sure what’s in your makeup, you could potentially be consuming literally pounds of unwanted chemicals and toxins that are causing and worsening health problems you may have. I’m going to show you just a few key ingredients that are in nearly every store-bought lipstick, and I’m fairly certain you’ll be chucking that shade you thought you just couldn’t live without that you bought at the beauty store.
Parabens, you know you should hate them, but why?
I’m sure you’ve heard that parabens aren’t great for your skin or hair, and try to stay away from them as much as possible, but a lot of people don’t realize they’re also in your cosmetics, especially lipstick. Two big ones to avoid, that are in most store-bought lipsticks, are methylparaben and propylparaben, both of which are actually banned in the EU from use in cosmetics due to their toxicity. Both of these, and parabens in general, mimic estrogen, causing your body to become confused, and your endocrine system (the system that regulates your hormones) becomes disrupted. This can lead to an array of issues, including hormonal imbalances and even cancer. In fact, though both methylparaben and proplparaben have both been linked to breast cancer, methylparaben has actually been found intact within breast cancer tissues, and it is thought they not only increase your risk for breast cancer, but actually help breast cancer tumors grow and thrive. If this isn’t bad enough, methylparabens can also cause skin damage when exposed to sunlight. That’s right, if you were your lipstick literally anytime you’re outside, your skin cells are being bombarded by oxidative stress, damaging them. This type of damage has also been linked to causing diseases like cancer, and is overall no good for the health of your skin.
Propylparabens are not far behind on the scary spectrum. Many people are highly allergic to it, and it also disrupts your endocrine system. It has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer, and is highly toxic to your body, especially within your developmental and reproductive organs as a whole. So yeah, your lipstick is a big proponent of cancer if it has these ingredients in it, which is reason #1 to check to see what is inside your lipstick and then chunk it if it has any sort of parabens in it.
Not all vitamins are created equal.
Next up on my list of lipstick nasties is retinyl palmitate. Retinyl palmitate is a synthetic form of vitamin A that is oftentimes in cosmetics and skincare products. This stuff is awful for everyone, but especially so for pregnant women. If you are pregnant, you need to stay far away from this stuff to keep you and your baby safe, as it can cause birth defects. Again, this one is no bueno when exposed to sunlight, and can actually speed up the rate of tumor growth and increase the severity of skin lesions. The ironic part about this one, is not only is it found in lipstick, but also sunscreen. That’s right, the thing that is supposed to protect you from the sun is actually just making your body the perfect habitat for malignant tumors to grow. Studies done in 2005, 2006, and 2009 back up this claim, with the study in 2006 identifying retinyl palmitate as a “photosensitizer”, meaning it actually increased the amount of free radicals in the subject’s body and lead to the peroxidation of fatty cells. All three studies found retinyl palmitate to heavily aid in the development of cancer, tumors, and aging.
The All-Inclusive “Fragrance”
The last ingredient I’m going to discuss today, is the ever-present, but heavily-veiled ingredient, “fragrance”. I’m sure you have seen this in nearly everything, but what does that even mean? What exactly is “fragrance”? To keep it short and sweet, it is chemicals you definitely DO NOT want to be sniffing. Fragrance is one of EWG (Environmental Working Group’s) top ingredients to stay away from, as it scores a whopping on their Skindeep Database. Fragrance has been linked to everything from allergies to organ system toxicity, so take care in avoiding this one.
So, why do companies put all these carcinogens and allergens in makeup? The short of it is, they’re cheap and easy to manipulate. Using organic, natural ingredients is much harder to control, and can be quite pricey. That $25 tube of lipstick you got at the beauty store, in all honestly, probably took less than $1 to make, and all it’s doing is literally giving you cancer little by little. In today’s time, it’s so important to do your own research and look past what you thought you knew. Not every company, especially in the beauty industry, is being upfront about the dangers associated with their products, and it really is up to you to know what will make you healthy and feel amazing from the inside out.
If you’re looking for a healthier, organic alternative to your lipstick, check out our line of organic, vegan Tinted Lip Balms!
Thanks for reading, I hope to see you here next week for our newest blog!
Kayla
Owner/Maker/One-Woman-Show behind Terrestrial Organics
I created Terrestrial Organics to break the mold of typical beauty and cosmetic companies that are popular in the industry. I handpick, research, and test out every single ingredient and product I create, so I know I’m offering you the best of the best. When you put organic, natural ingredients into your body that are actually helping your body function, you not only look amazing on the outside, but inside, too.
