Test of chemicals in lip balms

About the test

• Behind the test

  How we tested

  In January 2021, the Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals purchased 51 lip balms in the Danish retail trade.

  We do not know the market shares for the individual products. We have selected a wide range of products from different brands, retailers, price ranges and product types and more.

  Also included in the selection are both lip balms with and without sun protection (SPF).

  We have reviewed the ingredient lists for whether the lip balms contain substances that, for example, can cause allergies or are suspected of being endocrine disruptors.

  We have sent product names and ingredient lists to the manufacturers to ensure that there are no errors and that the products are still on the market.

  The declaration test examines the declared ingredients. The test does not take into account the concentration in the individual product.

  What we found:

  •    19 lip balms get the best chemical rating A. They are good choices without the content of a number of problematic substances. The products are also free of perfumes and ingredients based on mineral or synthetic oils.

  •    19 lip balms get a medium chemical rating B. They are free of a number of problematic substances. However, they contain perfumes and / or plant extracts that may cause allergies and / or ingredients based on mineral or synthetic oils. In addition, the products can contain environmentally problematic substances.

  •    13 lip balms get the lowest chemical rating C. They contain one or more substances that are suspected to be endocrine disruptors. In a single case, it is a perfumed product for children.

  15 of the 19 lip balms with an A rating have the Swan eco-label and / or an allergy label in the form of the ‘The Blue Label’ or AllergyCertified.

  Suspected endocrine disruptors

  In the lip balms, we found the following substances that are suspected to be endocrine disruptors:

  •    Sun-filtered Benzophenone-3 - in 2 lip balms
  
  •    Sun-filtered ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate - in 4 lip balms
  
  •    Sun-filtered octocrylene - in 1 lip balm
  
  •    The antioxidant BHT - in 6 lip balms
  
  •    Salicylic acid found - in 2 lip balms
  
  •    The perfume benzyl salicylate - in 2 lip balms

  Lip balms with suspected endocrine disruptors do not pose a risk in themselves. However, they can contribute to an overall exposure to endocrine disruptors - the so-called cocktail effect - which is suspected of causing a number of unwanted effects.

  Allergens

  In one lip balm, we also found - in addition to perfume and plant extracts - content of another allergenic substance:

  •    the antioxidant propyl gallate, which is classified as an allergen in the EU

  Perfume and plant extracts

  23 of the lip balms contain perfume, aroma or plant extracts that can cause allergies.

  Several of the products contain one or more of the 26 declarable perfume substances.

  2 of the perfumed products are for children. The Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals does not recommend perfume for children, and the products receive the lowest chemical rating C.

  Mineral oils in lip balms

  19 lip balms contain ingredients based on mineral or synthetic oils. In 16 of the 19 products, it is ingredients based on mineral oils.

  Substances based on mineral oils include:

  •    Petrolatum,
  
  •    paraffinum liquidum,
  
  •    paraffin,
  
  •    cera microcrystalline / microcrystalline wax,
  
  •    ceresin and
  
  •    ozokerite
  
  •    Mineral oils contain, among other things, the substance groups MOSH and MOAH.

  The mineral oils MOSH can accumulate in the body's organs - including the liver and spleen. The substance group MOAH can be carcinogenic.

  The European Food Authority EFSA considers that the intake of mineral oils from food is of concern for health. Therefore, it is a good idea to limit the intake of mineral oils where possible.

  You cannot avoid to 'eat' part of a lip balm once you have smeared it on your lips. The EU Scientific Committee estimates that with regular use you 'eat' up to 4 lip balms a year. As a precaution, you can choose lip balms without mineral oils.

  Synthetic oils

  3 of the lip balms contain exclusively synthetic oils.

  Polyisobutylene and polyethylene are the names of some of the synthetic oils. The synthetic oils can accumulate in the organs of the body in the same way as the mineral oils.

  Ingredients based on either mineral or synthetic oils trigger a medium rating B when found in lip balms.

  Lip balms not based on fats from mineral or synthetic oils instead contain natural fats and oils from plants or beeswax.

• What the companies say

  Pierre Fabre, responsible for Avéne:

  Pierre Fabre states that paraffinum liquidum is an ingredient they no longer use when formulating products.

  Avène Cold Cream Lip Balm is being reformulated and is expected to be relaunched without paraffinum liquidum in late 2021.

  H&M:

  "All products from H&M Group are produced with great regard for customers' health and the environment.

  All suppliers to H&M Group must undertake to comply with H & M's special chemical requirements. These requirements are as a minimum based on applicable laws and regulations in our sales countries as well as on other concerns about both health, environment and working environment.

  All cosmetic products from H&M Group must comply with EU cosmetics legislation, and in this connection undergo a toxicological safety assessment to guarantee that they are safe to use for our customers.

  As regard to cosmetic products for children, H&M Group also has the following additional requirements:

  - Any potentially allergenic perfume substance must represent less than 0,001% of the final product.

  Ingredients based on mineral hydrocarbons must be of food quality. In addition, they must comply with the specifications of the Cosmetic Europe Recommendation, which means, among other things, that only mineral hydrocarbons, for which is defined an acceptable daily intake, must be used.

  -The products must undergo an additional toxicological assessment, where a third party toxicologist evaluates the product based on exposure scenarios other than those already examined in the toxicological safety assessment required by the EU Cosmetics Regulation.

  Thus, H&M Disney Frozen Lip Balm is rated and found safe to use by children. "

• Sun protection: Lip Balms contained problematic UV filters

  Some lip balms contain UV filters and can provide a sun-protective effect. This typically is indicated by a sun factor, the so-called SPF, as you know it from sunscreens.

  However, several UV filters are suspected to be endocrine disruptors. Therefore, some of the tested lip balms with sun protection get the worst rating of the test: C.

  These two lip balms with sun filter get the best rating A:

  • Apoteket's Anti-age lip balm SPF 15
  • Matas Lip Balm SPF 25