The insect of Holistic Living is still crawling my mind. I don’t know, if it will ever leave now.
A few days back, I watched a video on youtube in which they were discussing the harsh living conditions in which the miners of Jharkhand live. The miners are mostly child laborers. They are hired to cope up with the increasing burden for the yield of mica by MNCs. Mica is used in various modern cosmetics.
Watching that video, I thought of checking out the ingredients of my mom’s cosmetics, a few days back. My mom is a simple lady who doesn’t like doing makeup. All the cosmetics that she has are no less than a decade old. Then rarely any emphasis was given to mention the background details.
Even to this day, only branded cosmetics mention the ingredients on the label. Much of the local brands and chinese items lack this feature.
I also used a lipstick in first two of my brand collaborations to look attractive, but I left the idea soon.
So, I picked up a branded lipstick, my mom has to read the ingredients. Luckily it didn’t have mica in it.
It will be quite tedious if I mention every ingredient of the lipstick I used. I’m also not mentioning about the brand as it might account to libel. Before this, I also revealed the ingredients of men’s personal grooming products (particularly deodorants and shaving creams). If you want to read it, click here. I caution you to do your own research along with doing this.
1. Dipentaerythrityl Hexastearate
CAS Number-70969-57-2
Hazards- This chemical is not directly harmful to humans, but it poses a threat to aquatic life.
2. Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate
CAS Number- 5466-77-3
Hazards- This chemical is mutagenic. It leads to degeneration of skin in presence of sun.
3. Cetyl Acetate
CAS Number- 629-70-9
Hazards- It doesn’t cause any harm to dry skin but can cause havoc to oily skins as it weakens them and enlarges pores.
4. Lanolin Oil
CAS Number- 8006-54-0
Hazards- It is basically a waxy substance which is derived while processing the wool. Still some people argue that it isn’t cruelty free as the same lanolin can be derived from the meat of the sheep.
It doesn’t cause any harm to humans, but if you have a fast or have resolved to be vegetarian, please don’t buy products with this ingredient.
5. Lanolin Alcohol
CAS Number- 8027-33-6
Hazards- It is derived from lanolin oil itself, so all the hazards are automatically inherited by this chemical.
6. Titanium Dioxide
CAS Number- 13463-67-7
Hazards- It has toxic effects on the brain and can lead to nerve damage. It is also carcinogenic.
7. Bismuth Oxychloride
CAS Number- 7787-59-9
Hazards- This substance shares its chemical composition with arsenic. It can lead to renal (kidney) damage.
8. Fragrance/Perfume/Parfum
CAS Number-
Hazards- This is not any regular perfume or fragrance. It is government permitted code word used to represent 3000 chemicals out of which 900 are toxic.
I’ve Been Using It Since Years, I didn’t Find Any Harm.
I found it extremely necessary to break this old notion. Prevention is better than cure. If you opt for any holistic alternative which is fractionally costlier than your regular toxic products, It will work on to save thousands and lakhs of money which you would otherwise spend on heavy medicines and surgeries.
Whenever you opt for any unhealthy habit, you live on a credit card, your health has to pay for in future.
Some people say, that I’ve used this product my whole life, it didn’t harm me. But believe me, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The toxicity is not digested in your body, It is concentrated. They later on cause havoc, usually when it’s too late to take a step back.
You Don’t Need A Lipstick Anyway
Even if your lipstick doesn’t have any of these ingredients, it’s still not necessary. Count those women who wash their mouths before eating. No one. Lipsticks act as their flavor enhancers while eating.
Now, I hardly have any interest left, but three years back, I used coconut oil or petroleum jelly on my lips (I stopped using petroleum jelly later on as it made my lips feel heavy). You can add some color to it. It’s that simple.
