What You Need To Know

What you put on your lips is especially important because you can’t avoid ingesting some of it.

Plus, you don’t want to kiss your baby and leave a residue of harmful ingredients on baby’s skin. Here are tips to keep your lips hydrated and toxic-free:

AVOID 

• Certain preservatives, like parabens, and other antibacterial and antimicrobial agents work to prevent bacterial and microbial growth by releasing formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen (a substance capable of causing cancer).  

• Synthetic fragrances that contain phthalates boost the scent’s staying power. The word ‘phthalate’ won’t be listed on a product label, so be cautious if you simply see ‘fragrance’ as an ingredient. Some phthalates are known to be carcinogenic and others may contribute to reproductive and neurodevelopmental problems.
• Chemical UV filters effectively absorb UV rays, but can cause dermal sensitization, persist in the environment, and can cause harm to aquatic life. Certain UV filters, particularly oxybenzone, octinoxate, or sulisobenzone, have been shown to interfere with normal hormone function in humans and wildlife.
• Synthetic antioxidants, like butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), are ethoxylated ingredients and can contain trace amounts of carcinogenic byproducts, notably 1,4-Dioxane. They can be tricky to spot on a label, but checking for polyethylene glycol compounds (PEGs) or ingredients such as sodium laureth sulfate and chemicals that end with ‘-eth’ (like laureth, ceteareth or steareth) is a good start.
• Heavy metals are common in both mineral and synthetic pigments used in color cosmetics. Lead can be found in small amounts in some lip balms and lipsticks. It is readily absorbed when ingested and can have adverse effects on brain development and behavior.

BETTER CHOICES

• Pure shea butter, cocoa butter and jojoba oil without additives or fragrances generally do not contain any harmful contaminants. Note that the production of these butters and oils can have adverse environmental impacts.

• Buy fragrance-free products. 

• Choose lip balms that use mineral UV blockers like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide instead of chemical UV filters.

• For more information, check out Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/.

DIY

• Safer choice recipes generally include some combination of: sweet almond, coconut, or grapeseed oils; shea or cocoa butters; and/or bees wax. Just make sure to choose ingredients without additives and other chemicals that could be harmful.