The most important component in a woman’s makeup kit is probably the lipstick. No makeup kit is complete without one (or many, considering the different shades and brands). They no doubt add beauty to your smile. But, at what cost? Lipsticks come with some unavoidable side-effects, thanks to its manufacturing materials. Women wear lipstick when they leave home and continue wearing it all day long – sometimes even to bed. Many lipsticks contain lead, which is extremely harmful and causes irreversible health damage. They cause allergy, irritation, and chapping on the lips and the surrounding skin. Certain harmful chemicals and heavy metals can also cause cancer.

How Do Lipsticks Harm Us?

Lead is the commonly found harmful content in lipsticks. It mainly affects the nervous system and harms the hormonal system. Lipsticks are known to cause allergy and irritation over the lips and the surrounding skin. Other harmful effects include blockage of pores, drying and chapping of lips. Certain harmful ingredients are known to cause cancer, also, heavy metal poisoning is present in minute quantities in our lipsticks.

Here are some harmful side-effects of using lipsticks regularly.

Heavy Metals Cause Renal Failure

Lipsticks contain harmful heavy metals like cadmium, magnesium, and chromium. All these metals can cause dangerous diseases and organ damage. Extremely high amounts of cadmium can increase the risk of renal failure. Frequent application of lipstick can cause severe stomach tumors.

Lead Affects Nervous System

Lead is a common constituent in most lipsticks. It is a neurotoxin that has a harmful effect on the nervous system. It can also cause brain damage, hormonal imbalance, and infertility.

Petrochemicals Disrupt Growth

Many lipsticks have petrochemicals as a common ingredient, which has harmful side-effects. Petrochemicals are a by-product of crude oil and natural gas. It can cause endocrine disruption that works as an obstacle to growth, development, reproduction, and intelligence.

Preservatives Cause Cancer

The preservatives used in lipsticks are formaldehyde and parabens that are known carcinogens. Lipsticks that utilize these preservatives cause irritation of the eyes, coughing, wheezing and irritation on the skin. The mineral oils used in lipsticks block the skin pores and are responsible for many permanent harmful effects.

Chemicals Harm The Body

Though bismuth oxychloride is a chemical used to preserve the lipstick, it is extremely harmful to the body. The harmful effect of lipsticks is due to the carcinogenic property of this ingredient. The propylparaben act as preservatives just like formaldehyde.

Increases Toxin Ingestion

Lipsticks are worn most of the time, including when eating out. Women ingest them accidentally while eating, long after they are applied. This increases the impact of the toxins present in lipsticks. The lipstick or lip gloss result in women exceeding the daily intake permitted for aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and manganese. These accumulate in the body over time and cause toxicity. The intake of these metals is more than 20 percent of their accepted daily intake (ADI) limits. ADI is the maximum amount of a toxin that a person can be exposed to without any major health risk.

So, here are some major side-effects caused by the harmful chemicals and heavy metals present in leading brands of lipsticks and lip gloss. The next time you wear your lipstick, make sure you wear one that does not contain these harmful ingredients.

On the lighter side, even men are vulnerable to the side-effect caused by lipstick stain on their shirts, when they are caught by their wives who realize that the lipstick stain on their shirt does not belong to them.

What Are The Ingredients In Lipsticks We Should Avoid?

Lipsticks contain many harmful ingredients. These include chiefly toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium, mercury, and antimony. In addition to lead, lipsticks may contain formaldehyde, a preservative, and known carcinogen, mineral oil substances are also known to block pores while parabens like carcinogens are often used as preservatives. Lipstick manufacturers are also using harmful petrochemicals to produce such lip formulas.