What’s in Your Lip Balm? November 12, 2007

I took a look at the assorted lip balms I have collected from various sources and, while I do have a tube of Burt’s Bees, I have some less than desirable tubes lurking in my cosmetic bag. To find lip balms without hazardous ingredients, I used the Skin Deep Safe Cosmetics Database as a starting point. I included only those companies who have signed the “Compact for Safe Cosmetics” and who don’t test their products on animals. The companies below manufacture lip balms in the low hazard (0-2) range.

• Alba Organics Hawaiian – manufacturer  Avalon Natural Products (parent company Hain Celestial Group, Inc.)
• Badger – manufacturer W.S. Badger Company
• bareFaced Mineral Cosmetics – manufacturer bareFaced Mineral Cosmetics
• Burt’s Bees – manufacturer Burt’s Bees, Inc. (parent company Clorox)
• Cosmic Tree Essentials – manufacturer Cosmic Tree Essentials Ltd.
• Dropwise Essentials – manufacturer Dropwise Essentials
• Terressentials 100% Organic -  manufacturer Terressentials
• Weleda – manufacturer Weleda

Below are the ingredients, along with my comments, of a popular lip balm that you’ll find hanging right by the cash register for that impulse purchase. Bon Appetit!

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:

• PADIMATE O – Suncreen that is photo-carcinogenic, that’s clever.
  Derivative of PABA, an ester formed by the condensation of 2-ethylhexanol and dimethylaminobenzoic acid. It is a yellowish oily liquid that is insoluble in water. It absorbs ultraviolet rays, thereby preventing direct DNA-damage by UV-B. Unfortunately the excited Padimate O molecule reacts bimolecularly with DNA and produces indirect DNA-damages, that are similar to those done by ionizing radiation. Therefore, Padimate O is presumably photo-carcinogenic.
• WHITE PETROLATUM 44% (SKIN PROTECTANT) – Initially a nuisance on oil rigs because it caused them to seize up.
  Petrolatum is a flammable, semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons, having a melting-point usually ranging from a little below to a few degrees above 100°F (37 °C). It is colorless, or of a pale yellow color (when not highly distilled), translucent, and devoid of taste and smell when pure. It does not oxidize on exposure to the air, and is not readily acted on by chemical reagents. It is insoluble in water. Most petroleum jelly today is consumed as an ingredient in skin lotions and cosmetics. Although petrolatum is less expensive than glycerol (glycerine), the most common active lubricating ingredient in skin lotion, it is not used in expensive lotions because it is not absorbed into the skin resulting in a greasy feel.

INACTIVE INGREDIENTS:

• ARACHADYL PROPIONATE – Derived from what?
  Waxy substance used as a thickening agent and emollient in cosmetics.
• CAMPHOR – I’m betting the manufacturer is using synthetic camphor derived from oil of turpentine.
  Aromatic substance obtained from the wood of a southeast Asian tree, Cinnamomum camphora, or manufactured synthetically from oil of turpentine. Camphor is readily absorbed through the skin and produces a feeling of cooling similar to that of menthol and acts as slight local anesthetic and antimicrobial substance. Modern uses include as a plasticizer for cellulose nitrate, as a moth repellent, as an antimicrobial substance, in embalming, and in fireworks.
• CETYL ALCOHOL – Whatever is cheapest, I’m guessing petroleum!
  Fatty alcohol used as a surfactant in shampoos, or as an emollient, emulsifier or thickening agent in the manufacture of skin creams and lotions. It is also employed as a lubricant for nuts and bolts. Can be derived as an end-product of the petroleum industry, or produced from vegetable oils such as palm oil and coconut oil. It is not an irritant and is not related to SD alcohol or ethyl alcohol.
• D&C RED 6 BARIUM LAKE – Because without color it would look disgusting?
  Red coloring. According to the FDA, D&C is an identification that indicates a coloring agent has been approved as safe in drug and cosmetics products, but not in food.
• FRAGRANCES – This is plural so there is more than one. What would it smell like without?
• ISOPROPYL LANOLATE – Not just one but two products derived from wool.
  Derived from lanolin, it is used in cosmetics as a thickening agent and emollient.
• ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE – Kill your head lice with your lip balm.
  Used in cosmetic and topical medicinal preparations where good absorption through the skin is desired. It is also used as a pesticide-free treatment against head lice which works by dissolving the wax that covers the exoskeleton of head lice, killing them by dehydration.
• LANOLIN – Or just rub your lips on sheep’s wool.
  A greasy yellow substance derived from wool-bearing animals which acts as a skin ointment, water-proofing wax, and raw material (such as in shoe polish). Lanolin is secreted by the sebaceous glands of sheep. As an ointment base, it is readily absorbed through skin, facilitating absorption of the medicinal chemicals it carries. The name given to the product ‘Oil of Olay’ is derived from the word “lanolin,” a key ingredient, which was chosen by the inventor, Graham Wulff.
• LEMON OIL – Your lips can smell like furniture cleaner.
• LIGHT MINERAL OIL - Again with the petroleum by-product!
  By-product in the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline. It is a transparent, colorless oil related to white petrolatum. Mineral oil is a substance of relatively low value, and it is produced in very large quantities. Mineral oil is available in light and heavy grades, and can often be found in drug stores. Used as an ingredient in baby lotions, cold creams, ointments and other pharmaceuticals and low-grade cosmetics.
• MALTOL - Because I need to absorb my RDA of aluminum.
  Flavor enhancer. Because it has the odor of caramel, maltol is used to impart a sweet aroma to fragrances. Maltol has been reported to increase aluminium uptake in the body by 90 times.
• METHYLPARABEN – 50/50 chance parabens are linked to breast cancer.
  Mold-inhibitor and a popular preservative for food and cosmetics. Group of preservatives, including butylparaben, propylparaben, methylparaben, and ethylparaben. They are the most widely used group of preservatives found in cosmetics. There is research showing that in animal models (and in vitro) parabens can have weak estrogenic activity. Whether that poses any health risk for humans using cosmetics is unknown. Nevertheless, the European Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) stated in 2006 that the available data on parabens do not enable a decisive response to the question of whether propyl, butyl and isobutyl paraben can be safely used in cosmetic products at individual concentrations up to 0.4%, which is the allowed limit in the EU. Some organizations which adhere to the precautionary principle object to their everyday use. See also FDA advisory.
• OCTYLDODECANOL – Can cause contact dermatitis, an attractive alternative to chapping.
  An emulsifier and opacifying agent, used primarily as a thickener in moisturizers because of its lubricating and emollient properties.
• PHENYL METHICONE – Not much information on this one. Good, bad, indifferent – who knows?
  Synthetic silicone
• PROPYLPARABEN - Because one paraben is never enough.
  A preservative typically found in many water-based cosmetics, such as creams, lotions, shampoos and bath products. See Methylparaben.
• SACCHARIN - You pays your money and you takes your chances.
  Flavoring agent, fragrance ingredient. There have been worries about the safety of saccharin since its introduction. Many studies have since been performed on saccharin, some showing a correlation between saccharin consumption and increased frequency of cancer (especially bladder cancer) and others finding no such correlation. No study has ever shown a clear causal relationship between saccharin consumption and health risks in humans at normal doses, though some studies have shown a correlation between consumption and cancer incidence in (perhaps flawed) rat studies. According to trade-group operated saccharin.org, “Concerns over saccharin’s safety were first raised twenty years ago after a flawed study that administered huge quantities of the sweetener to laboratory rats produced bladder tumors in rats. New and better scientific research has decisively shown that the earlier rat studies are not at all applicable to humans.”
• WAXES – Since wax is plural, it may be a number of different waxes, most likely artificial and quite likely petroleum based.
  May be natural or artificial. In addition to beeswax, carnauba (a plant epicuticular wax) and paraffin (a petroleum wax) are commonly encountered waxes which occur naturally.

Related Posts:

• What’s in Your Toothpaste?
• A Cosmetic Makeover
• What’s in Your Cosmetics?
• Lead in Your Lipstick

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