I have a love/hate relationship with lipstick.

The love part, the splash of colour gives the pencil thin lips, a tiny bit of pizazz – not enough to turn me into a sultry HOT BABE, but enough to at least confirm I have a pair of lips.

The hate part, I carefully apply the stuff in the bathroom prior to the rendezvous of importance. By the time I arrive at my destination, there is very little evidence of the application. En route – my greedy little tongue has licked it all off, not consciously of course. Needless to say – I more often than not, do my big encounter, lipstick free, of course, I am oblivious to the fact that I am lipstick free.

For those of you whispering – use the everlasting stuff. Everlasting lipstick – lasts about five minutes longer than the conventional stuff. My tongue is like a new broom, it sweeps clean.

Lipstick troubles….

Lucky for me………….. I am not a lick off, put more on kind of girl.

Remember, I am a scientist – we’re not exactly known for our fashion sense. Applying it in the first place is a big deal, once it’s licked – it’s licked.

This apply once philosophy, may be a power move from a health perspective.

Lipsticks have some “NASTY” ingredients.

Diving into the lipstick tube

Researchers from the University of California stocked up on lipsticks and lip gloss, purchasing 32 different products from local stores. The lipstick selected was not completely random. The scientists got a little input from a cohort of 12 local teenagers, ensuring the products selected were used by THE COOL.

The lipstick run was not to try improve their looks. Instead, each lipstick was analysed for the presence of metals.

Hot lips have a metallic sheen

Every brand contained a collection of metals. Some more, some less. The lipstick metal collection included lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminium, nickel, copper and manganese.

So what ? The levels were pretty low and some of these metals, like manganese, are good for you, you just don’t want them in excess.

Metals are ubiquitous. Small amounts aren’t going to do any harm, are they ?

Kissers and lickers beware

If lipstick is applied on high days and holidays, the tiny amounts of metal would be just that – tiny. In the big picture of things – a blip on the radar.

But for many women, lipstick is not reserved for high days and holidays. Admittedly, on high days – more is applied, while on holidays, less is typically applied – you don’t need to look good when you stay home in your pyjamas.

For most women, lipstick is an EVERYDAY, multiple times a day, accessory.

That is a lot of lipstick

The team calculated the average women ingests 24 mg of lip makeup, a day, with kisses and lickers, being high end users.

The kissers don’t have to worry – they’re spreading the love and a few other things, but lickers could be ingesting as much as 87 mg of lipstick each day.

87 mg, everyday adds up – in a year, that’s 31 g. In a lifetime, that could be a kilogram of the metal tainted lipstic. The tiny amounts of metal inside the tube of lipstick, are not looking quite as innocent.

Looking beautiful is hazardous to your health

A little. Especially if you’re a licker.

Based on this science, it might be prudent to limit the touch ups. You want to keep your lipstick consumption in check !

Further reading

Beware your makeup could turn you into a beast not a beauty	If you want to stop brain rust – install a red robot	The fountain of youth pumps out tomato puree and carrot soup

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