The Stiftung Warentest took a close look at lipsticks. There is hardly any criticism in terms of care and coverage. But they contain a substance that can damage the genetic make-up.
Berlin – you don’t just wear lipsticks, you also eat them, so to speak. If you put make-up on your lips every day, you “consume” around five pens a year – or 57 milligrams of paint per day, as quoted by Stiftung Warentest in its magazine “test” (issue 11/2021). Calculations by the Scientific Committee for Consumer Safety of the EU Commission. According to the foundation, this poses a newly assessed health risk.
Stiftung Warentest found the whitening color pigment titanium dioxide in all of the 17 lipsticks tested in the price range between 4 and 38 euros. It is also contained in pens that are sold as natural cosmetics. If the substance is swallowed regularly, a mutagenic effect cannot be ruled out. The genetic material of cells could be damaged, possibly even cancer.
Pay attention to the abbreviation “CI 77891”
Titanium dioxide, which has long been considered harmless, has been rated as no longer safe in food by the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) since May 2021. Consumers can recognize whether titanium dioxide is contained in lipstick by the identification “CI 77891”, which is often supplemented by “Titanium Dioxide”. It is currently still mixed in with many lipsticks on the market, says Thomas Koppmann, project manager of the test. With the reassessment of Efsa something will change quickly, he estimates.
Lipsticks should not only find the right color, but also care for them and ensure the right shine – this is what manufacturers add mineral oil components to. Stiftung Warentest also rates these as critical, because they could accumulate in organs and tissues.
Although the health consequences are still unclear, Efsa assesses the amount that people already ingest through food as “potentially worrying”. These substances and similar synthetic hydrocarbons are generally prohibited in certified natural cosmetics.
After all: opacity and care are usually good
Mineral oil components, which are also referred to as mosh ingredients (Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons), are listed on the product packaging as petrolatum, ozokerite, cera microcristallina or paraffin, for example.
In the test, none of the lipsticks examined received a “good” rating. The testers rated two pens as defective due to the increased mosh content. The rest of them got a “satisfactory” rating. “From the point of view of precautionary consumer protection, we do not recommend lipstick in the test unreservedly,” says the test result. In terms of coverage and maintenance, the testers hardly had anything to complain about in any of the test candidates. dpa