Nature's Way - Lip Stick

Lipstick is usually made up of a wax mixed with oil such as mineral, castor oil or lanolin along with pigments and additives for colour and fragrance.  As mentioned in the section on oils, mineral oil can clog the pores which will cause all sorts of problems.  Castor oil is fantastic so a lipstick using this oil is great but lanolin, oil from lambs' wool, is a common allergen.  Lipsticks can also contain ingredients such as beetles and fish scales.  The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested thirty three lipsticks for lead, from Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer to L'Oreal Colour Riche. They found that 61% of the lipsticks tested contained a detectable amount of the contaminant.  In fact, several lipsticks exceeded the Food and Drug Administration's lead limit for candy.  So why do they insist on using lead?  Lead makes lipstick stay on your lips longer.

All unnatural ingredients contain a health risk and you never really know what is in your lipstick, do you?  Especially the cheap ones that come from places where there is limited or no testing done.  There is no reason to take a risk with something that you put on your mouth, take care to either find a lipstick that you are certain contains only natural ingredients or take a few minutes to make your own.

Nature’s Way Alternatives

I use Castor Oil or Olive Oil to add a natural shine to my lips in place of a lip gloss or lip stick.  Castor Oil is well known for its antibacterial, moisturising and anti-aging properties.  Both oils will not only moisturise your lips but they will also feed your lips with nourishing nutrients.  Using petroleum jelly for your lips suffocates your lips and offers no nutritional value.  The name says it all, it comes from petrol.

Results:
•    No harmful chemicals
•    Anti-aging
•    No cancer risks
•    Save money

NATURE’S WAY LIPSTICK

Ingredients: Castor Oil

Method: Smooth onto your lips with your fingers or a small lip brush as a subtle lip-gloss in place of lip-gloss or lipstick.

More lipstick recipes:
There are many recipes available for homemade lipsticks using natural ingredients, here are some:

Beeswax Lipstick

• 1 tablespoon Beeswax
• 1 tablespoon  Shea Butter
• 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
• 1 teaspoon Coco Powder or natural food colouring

Melt the first three ingredients together over a bowl of boiling water.  Add cocoa or colouring and mix very well.  Pour into an old washed out lipstick container or buy lip balm tins from Amazon or somewhere similar.

Cranberry Lipstick

• 1 tablespoon  Shea Butter
• 1 tablespoon  Castor Oil
• 10 fresh cranberries

Gently melt the ingredients together.  Stir well and mash the berries.  Let the mixture stand for a few minutes then strain the mixture through a fine sieve to remove all the pieces of cranberry. Pour into a lip balm container for a shiny lipstick. 

Now it's your turn.

If you have any lipstick tips that work well, please share them with us.  Find out more about Nature's Way here.