Lipstick is a popular makeup product that is worn by both women and men. For girls, it is often an indispensable part of the makeup routine giving colour and moisturising lips. Find out what lipstick is really made of.

What is inside a tube of lipstick

During ancient times, lipstick came from different sources such as crushed gemstones, red dye and even pulverised bugs. Since then, the formulation of lipsticks has changed to include the following ingredients:

wax - it is one of the main ingredients of lipstick. Wax gives the lipstick a firm structure. It can come from different waxes such as ozokerite, beeswax and candelilla. In particular, Carnauba wax strengthens the composition of the lipstick.

oils - Another key ingredient of lipstick is oil that can serve to moisturise and give the lips a shimmering effect. Lanolin, petrolatum, cocoa butter, mineral and olive oil may be one of the oils used in lipsticks.

emollients - serve as moisturisers that will soothe and calm the lips. With a matte lipstick, you will get more silica than emollients whilst glossy lipsticks have more oil for a shiny finish.

antioxidants - The most commonly used ones include propyl gallate, citric acid and BHA/BHT. Vitamins such as A, B, C and E are some other antioxidants found in lipstick.

Other ingredients that can be found in a lipstick include bromo acid, synthetic pearl particles and silica.

Unlisted ingredients

Unfortunately, there are ingredients used in the production of lipstick that are not labelled. For example, you will not find lead as a listed ingredient. The truth is, there are some lipsticks that may contain lead. There might be other ingredients that are quite harmful to the health such as cadmium, manganese, aluminium and chromium.