LIFE> Health
Lipstick loses gloss
(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-19 18:05

A test of lipsticks commissioned by a German consumer protection magazine has found more than half of them to be potential health hazards.

Oeko-Test (Eco-Test) reports in its August issue that of the 306 lipsticks tested - 21 different brands and various shades of color - 121 received a failing grade and 44 a grade of "unsatisfactory."

The magazine says many of the lipsticks contain paraffins and synthetic substances, such as silicones that could gradually be "licked off" the lips and accumulate in the body.

The lipsticks that get positive assessments are mainly from makers of natural cosmetics and contained no aniline, a suspected carcinogen.

The laboratory that conducted the test found no tartrazine in these lipsticks either, a dye that was thought to cause intolerance reactions, such as itching and a rash if it entered the body.