20 Lip Balm Roundup: Is It Safe to Contain Mineral Oil?

Source: Shanghai Municipal Consumer Protection Commission

Recently, there are many lip balms that claim to be "mineral oil-free" and are popular with consumers. Some people wonder whether this means that lip balms containing mineral oil are not safe enough.

The Shanghai Municipal Consumer Protection Commission conducted safety tests on 20 lip balms and invited Li Qiong, vice president of the Shanghai Daily Chemicals Industry Association, to interpret the oil and fat composition of the products.

Safety is all up to standard

The contamination of cosmetics by microorganisms will not only cause cosmetics to deteriorate, but also may irritate the skin and cause diseases. The four heavy metals of mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium, if used for a long time, harmful substances will pass through the skin and enter human organs and tissues, causing harm to the body.

China's "Cosmetics Safety Technical Specifications" (2015 edition) stipulates that the total number of colonies of lip cosmetics ≤ 500 CFU/g or ml, the total number of molds and yeasts ≤ 100 CFU/g or ml, and heat-resistant coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other pathogenic bacteria shall not be detected. Mercury must not exceed 1 mg/kg, lead must not exceed 10 mg/kg, arsenic must not exceed 2 mg/kg, and cadmium must not exceed 5 mg/kg.

The test found that the total number of colonies, mold and yeast in the 20 samples was less than 10 CFU/g, and the pathogenic bacteria such as heat-resistant coliform, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were not detected. The measured results of mercury shall not exceed 0.001 mg/kg, lead shall not exceed 0.09 mg/kg, arsenic shall not exceed 0.027 mg/kg, and cadmium shall not exceed 0.0033 mg/kg.

All samples are within the scope of safety standards and are all up to standard.

Is it safe to contain mineral oil?

The biggest difference between lip skin and other parts of the human body is that there is no hair follicle, so lip balm is different from the moisturizing principle of other skin, first of all, a large number of oil components in lip balm form an oil film on the lips, reduce moisture loss, play a role in replenishing oil, and then the moisturizing effect on the lips.

The commonly used oil and fat components are mainly divided into three types: mineral oils and fats (mineral grease, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, etc.), animal oils and fats (lanolin, beeswax, etc.) and vegetable oils (carnauba wax, candelilla wax, etc.).

Mineral oils and fats are mainly closed and form oil films, while animal and vegetable oils have a better penetrating effect and increase the moisture of the skin. The use of raw materials in the product can play a good synergistic role.

We combed through the grease ingredients of 20 lip balms and found that most of the samples with good moisturizing effect were compounded with raw materials.

In response to the phenomenon of lip balm without mineral oil on the market, experts said that from the perspective of safety, so far, there is no systematic and scientific data pointing out that lip balm containing mineral oil has safety risks, and animal and vegetable oils may also bring allergens. In terms of moisturizing effect, mineral oil has strong closure, while animal and vegetable oils have better permeability, and their respective advantages are outstanding.

Experts suggest that when everyone chooses to buy, they should rationally look at the relevant publicity, and there is no need to "talk about oil discoloration" for mineral oil consumers.

In addition, the test also found that there are many lip balms on the market that claim to be "free of preservatives", and some claim that lip balms are "edible".

Experts say cosmetics claims to be edible are misleading and illegal propaganda. China's Cosmetic Safety Technical Specifications (2015 edition) require a limited amount of preservatives. Regular products will be tested before the market to ensure product safety. Therefore, consumers do not have to "talk about decay".