How and what is lipstick made of?

Almost all representatives of the fair sex at least once in his life painted lipstick lips. And many of the men often use this product - a hygienic analogue, without coloring pigments. Lipstick has become firmly established in everyday life. But who invented it and when? And from what did lipstick in antiquity? Probably, the composition of this cosmetic product was very different from the modern one. In fact now in lipstick enter the synthetic substances, allowing to fix a color pigment, to create on lips a film protecting from loss of a moisture, to give shine and shine. In this article we will tell you how and from what lipstick is made by the factory method, and whether it is possible to repeat the technological process at home. We will also make a short historical digression into the world of perfumery of antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Cosmetic lipstick of antiquity

This word itself goes back to the Latin pomum, which means "apple". But long before the era of ancient Rome, women used this cosmetic means. After all, you want to have sponges like liquid apples. It is well known that lipstick was used by women of Ancient Assyria about five thousand years ago. Find the archaeologists traces of paint for the lips and the Egyptian pyramids. What did you make lipstick from before? At the heart of this remedy were animal fat, beeswax and red mineral pigment - carmine. In ancient times Egyptians and women of Babylon, as they were dark-skinned brunettes, preferred lipstick of dark shades. In the Hellenistic era, the remedy became known in Greece, and then in Rome. Brown-haired and blondes began to look for new shades of lipsticks on their own. From such experiments on themselves they were passionately warned by the famous physician Claudius Galen. After all, women of the ancient world also believed that "beauty requires sacrifice", and therefore as color pigments added to the lipstick of such poisonous substances as cinnabar and marmot.

Interesting Facts

In the Middle Ages, the Church (both Roman Catholic and Orthodox) reacted extremely negatively to any unauthorized change in the appearance of a woman, since it, in her opinion, is contrary to the divine creation. But despite the papal bulls and anathemas, the women continued to paint their lips. Until the end of the nineteenth century lipsticks were produced in jars. Only in 1883 perfumers from France presented the product in the form of chalk wrapped in paper. And in 1915 inventive Americans thought to hide this "pencil" in a metal case with a piston mechanism. The composition of the remedy was almost the same, what lipstick is made of now. And in the thirties of the last century there was another revolutionary breakthrough. Haza Bishop invented a firm lip color. The firm Gerlen produced the first lipstick in a tube. This made the product massive, as its price dropped and became available to any woman.

Composition

When we choose lipstick, we first focus our attention on finding the right shade. And at the same time, we lose sight of what lip liner is made of. Each company has its own composition. But we can distinguish three main components of each lipstick. This is wax, fats and color pigments. In hygienic lipstick the last component is absent - in fact it is almost colorless. But, since this product is caring and even health-improving, it is added with herbal extract, vitamins and other substances useful for the skin of the lips. Despite the fact that this cosmetic product looks solid, it is eighty percent of liquid substances. But they have a low freezing point. Since the fats that make up lipstick do not smell very nice, manufacturers use perfume. It breaks the smell of raw materials and imparts its aroma. In the struggle for the buyer, manufacturers began to add to the cosmetic lipsticks various useful substances - moisturizers, vitamins, collagen, sunscreen filters, etc. Some products contain even food polyethylene. This substance creates on the lips a film that does not allow the dye to clog in the cracks, or spread to the edges of the mouth. But this polyethylene is absolutely harmless.

How to make a lipstick in a factory

The first machines that produce cosmetic in its modern form - in a plastic or metal case - were designed in the United States in 1949. Now, three mother-of-pearl components are added with mother-of-pearl (for radiance and optical lip enhancement) and oils. Wax, like all products of beekeeping, can serve as an irritant for allergy sufferers. Therefore, it is not used in the factory production of lipstick. It is replaced by waxes of vegetable origin - carnauba or candelilla, less often roses. Of fat, lanolin is most often used - a substance released by the sheep's wool. To turn a solid mineral color pigment into a creamy mass, it is dissolved in oils (more often in castor). This mixture is ground in special "shakers". The size of the mineral pigment does not exceed then fifteen microns, providing an even color without grains. Mica is washed, finely crushed, sprayed with a dye. So it turns out "mother of pearl". And then comes the line of liquid fats (isopropyl palmitate, butyl stearate and isopropyl myristate), structure-forming substances (paraffin and ceresin), solvents and essential oils for perfume. The mass cools down, it is cut into pencils, which are hidden in a case with a retractable piston.

Hygiene Lipstick

There is no coloring pigment in this product. If in hygienic lipstick and there is a weakly expressed color, this is achieved solely through the use of oils (sea buckthorn, pink). This product does not apply to decorative, but to caring cosmetics. Therefore, the composition of her more "sparing". What are hygiene lipsticks made of? Its basis are natural plant waxes, since the skin of our lips is devoid of sebaceous glands. To soften, various oils are used - first of all, a useful castor oil, but also sea buckthorn, karite, avocado, jojoba, apricot. To make the product anti-inflammatory and wound healing effect, it is added with extracts of aloe vera, chamomile, other herbs. Widely used vitamins A, B, C and E, sunscreen filters.

Is it possible to make lipstick at home

Sometimes, when you read the composition of a cosmetic remedy, you involuntarily ask yourself: are not all these polymers, isopropyl palmitates, ceresins and the like harmful to the body? We already learned how to make lipstick at the factory. And now the question arises: can we repeat the process at home, and without these questionable substances? Of course! After all, before setting up the factory production of lipsticks, our great-grandmothers prepared the lip-paint themselves. Of course, we will not use a poisonous cinnabar or a surrey as color pigments. We will use eye shadow. Since they are intended for application on the sensitive skin of the eyelids, this product is tested for toxicity. And if we want to use only natural dyes, we can limit ourselves to cinnamon, beet root powder, cocoa, turmeric. Mixing them, you can choose the right shade.

Composition of homemade lipstick

With the color pigment, we have already decided. It remains to supplement the composition of the product with fats, oils and, if desired, flavors. What do lipstick for individual use? If you do not have allergies to beekeeping products, take one part of the usual wax. It is easy to buy in shops where honey is sold. In order to lipstick evenly lay on the lips, we take the second part - shea butter. This component is harder to get. But it can be replaced with colorless cocoa butter, almond, avocado or mango. And for the shine and the desired texture, let's take one more component. This is coconut oil (it can be replaced with olive or jojoba). If we add all sorts of healing, moisturizing and nutritious mixtures instead of the dye, we will get a lip balm.

Factory process of making lipstick

It can be compared to cooking in a multivariate. How is lipstick made in a cosmetic factory? First, the components are placed in a "bead mill". First, waxes with crushed color pigment, then oils, and last but not least volatile components - essential oils of perfume. When the mass in this mixer becomes completely homogeneous, it is cooked at a temperature of eighty degrees for about six hours. Then the lipstick is allowed to cool slightly. But it is also semi-solid, it goes to the packing department where special presses distribute a large briquette in tubes or cases. Then the lipstick is quickly cooled.

We do lipstick at home. Stage One

We make color. We have already said that you can use only natural dyes, such as powder from dried beets, cocoa, turmeric. The minus of these means is the difficulty in selecting the right shade. Therefore, you can use eye makeup shadows. Also among this cosmetic you rarely see shades of red. Therefore, the best alternative are ... children's chalks for drawing on a wax basis. As a rule, they are tested for food fitness (kids often pull everything into their mouths), and therefore for lipstick will be absolutely harmless. Grind crayons on a grater into a powder. Mixing different colors, we get the right shade.

Second phase. Preparing the basis

We already know what lipstick is made from at the factory. Similarly, we will cook it at home. Prepare two tanks for a water bath. In a smaller bowl, we need to warm up the wax and oils. Do this very carefully. If a drop of water gets into the bowl of oil, a mini explosion will occur, since the boiling point of the liquid and the oils is different. Also need to constantly interfere with wax and fats. And in any case, do not bring them to a boil. We achieve only a liquid and homogeneous mass.

The final stage

We remove the bowl from a water bath. Quickly add to the hot wax and fats shredded color pigment and stuff, from what lipstick is made: perfume fragrance, additional healing and caring substances. As a safe flavor is suitable vanilla. Without perfume, lipstick will be given with a candle. At this stage it is important for us to mix the pigment with the fats, until the mass has hardened. The color component is added gradually, achieving the desired shade. Then we shift the mass into a prepared jar and leave it to cool. The lipstick is ready.