Last week, I was reminded of how often I used to reapply my lipstick when I read the New York Times article, “Is There Danger Lurking In Your Lipstick?” For years (before I became a stay-at-home mom) I was a habitual frequent lipstick reapplier – if my lips didn’t feel glossy when I pursed them together, I would reapply simply out of habit.
The problem with that kind of frequent lipstick use is that lipsticks are known to contain all kinds of heavy metals. While lipstick’s lead content has received a lot of the spotlight in the past few years, other metals also are present – including aluminum, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, and titanium.
Since lipstick is applied to your lips (technically a mucous membrane), the wearer ends up consuming all ingredients. And even if there are trace amounts of toxins in the lip product, they’ll accumulate in the wearer’s body.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Safer solutions
Lipstick wearers don’t have to worry about kicking their habit, though – there are safe alternatives. alex+von offers a fantastic solution with naturally safe alternatives. (Disclosure: I am an alex+von affiliate.) Some brands, like 100% Pure, use fruit pigment to color their products. To check out alex+von’s lip selections, click here.
Talk back
How often do you reapply lip products? What safe products do you like to use?
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