ÖKO-TEST sent lip gloss to the laboratory. The shocking result: Half of the products fail the test – many of them due to a harmful ingredient.
Lip gloss provides shine and color on the lips, it is available with and without flavor and in all shades of colour. However, some ingredients, including titanium oxide, mineral oil components or plastic compounds, did not convince the ÖKO-TEST testers at all. Half of the products examined received the rating “inadequate”.
16 red opaque lip gloss products were examined in the laboratory, including seven certified natural cosmetics. The result: A total of 8 products, all of them conventional products, received the rating “insufficient”, 5 other glosses a “satisfactory”.
The Note 6 drives in the following products, among others:
- Essence Extreme Shine Volume Lip Gloss (103 Pretty in Pink)
- L’Oréal Brilliant Signature Plump-in-Gloss (Inflate 410)
- Manhattan High Shine Lip Gloss (350)
- Maybelline Lifter Gloss (009 Topaz)
Note: the result appeared first in the output Öko-Test 12/2021.
dm is the test winner: you can buy this lip gloss without hesitation
Three products, all natural cosmetics and the only ones without titanium dioxide, scored “very good”:
The laboratory does not find any harmful substances here. But natural cosmetics also have their price. At 2.95 euros for 10 ml, the test winner from dm is still the cheapest product among the very good ones. The Benecos lip gloss is significantly more expensive at 3.99 for only 5 ml. Among the best, the Wala product is the most expensive at a whopping 15 euros for 4.5 ml.
You can read the detailed test report Read it for a fee at ÖKO-TEST.
Caution, Titanium Dioxide! Better to avoid other products
Particular attention was paid to the white pigment titanium dioxide when it came to the ingredients. If the lip gloss contained this substance, two grades were deducted in the evaluation.
The reason: According to the latest assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), titanium dioxide is classified as “no longer safe” as a food additive – a mutagenic effect cannot be ruled out.
The EU Commission plans to ban the controversial additive in food from 2022. Adsorption through the skin has not been proven, but lipstick and lip gloss are quickly licked off and thus enter the digestive tract.
But other problematic substances were also found in the beauty products, including two health-threatening azo dyes and paraffins, which can accumulate in organs. A conventional product was contaminated with potentially carcinogenic mineral oil components (MOAH). It came last in the rating.
To the detailed test at ÖKO-TEST