What are lipsticks made of?

Makeup has an amazing and shocking history. The prehistoric times, the ancient civilizations and medieval Europe; all have something to tell about makeup and the products that were used in those products. Some practices and ingredients used were weird as well.

The reason for makeup than was the same as today which is to be beautiful. Both men and women decorated themselves. However, women decorated their faces, especially during occasions and rituals. They wish to be called the most beautiful. Furthermore, it also protected them from harmful elements like sun, wind, and dry air.

During the prehistoric times, lipstick made from berries. Berries were used for giving color to the lips. In present times, lip makeup has undergone a great process of evolution.

The making of lipstick now has a standard set of ingredients. However, there may be some changes in it when the brand changes. In this article, we are going to know about the ingredients used in the lipstick.

Ingredients of a lipstick

The common lipstick ingredients are wax, oil, pigments, preservatives, antioxidants, alcohol and fragrance.

Wax

Wax is the basic ingredient in any lipstick. It is the base and it helps in easy application of the lipstick. Generally, beeswax, candle, carnauba wax is used in manufacturing if the lipstick. Among all of these, carnauba wax which is extracted from Brazilian wax trees is very expensive.

Oil

After the wax, the main ingredient is the oil. Commonly, vegetable oils, castor oils, lanolin oil, and mineral oil are used. Some lipsticks also use sheer Cocoa Butter.

Pigments

This is a very important ingredient. It is this which allows every shade of the lipstick possible. It is a fact that women can get even the slightest change in color. This one trait of women has compelled the manufacturer to use pigments to provide lipsticks with different colors.

Ingredients of a lipstickPreservatives and antioxidants

The ingredients of lipstick can make it perishable within days. So it is very important to use preservatives and antioxidants to increase the shelf life of the product. One tip to increase the shelf life of the product is to keep it in the fridge. If it is given ling hours of cool then and there, it can remain fresh.

Alcohol

You had come across two ingredients which are wax and oil. Alcohol is the only solvent for wax and alcohol.

Fragrance

The already present oil, wax and other pigments give away their smell. However, to make it good for our nose and have uniformity the right fragrance is used.

The lipsticks made of all these make it edible, easy to apply, water and sweat proof and safe for skin.