Of toxic substances in the lip balms

geo-grafika/epictura

Published the 25.09.2017 at 17h01

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Keywords :

oils minéraleslèvrescosmétiquehydrocarbure

It is a habit common : move on her lips a little bit of moisturizing balm. Wrong ! According to a testing done by a consumer association of belgium, most of the lip balms on the market contain toxic substances which, applied on the mucous membranes, pose a health problem.

“Number of cosmetics contain mineral oils. For care products of the skin, no problem. But it would be quite otherwise if a part of the product may be ingested, as is the case with lip balms. Indeed, mineral oils are at the origin of the substances that, once ingested, are potentially harmful for the health, ” alert Test-Achats in a press release published on Monday.

Substances hidden

These substances are the MOSH (Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons or saturated hydrocarbons) and MOAH (Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons or aromatic hydrocarbons). “Their specific risk is not yet very well established, but we strongly suspect the MOAH to be carcinogenic, and MOSH can accumulate in organs and cause the formation of tumors in the lymphatic glands, the liver or the spleen “, pointing to the organization.

However, Test-Achats notes that the presence of these substances is not indicated neither on the packaging nor on the list of ingredients. No safe threshold has not been set for these substances by the appropriate european body, regrets the association.

Labello, Yves Rocher, Petit Marseillais…

“Due to the lack of safety limits, it is necessary to refer to recommendations of institutions such as Cosmetics Europe and the european Authority of food safety (EFSA). Test-Achats has found that the limits indicated by these instances were exceeded for 15 of the 21 products selected for the test.”

15 lip balms to avoid after Test-Purchases are : Aptonia, Avène, Carmex, Eucerin, La Roche-Posay, Labello Original, Labello Sun protect, The Petit Marseillais, Louis Widmer, Maybelline BabyLips Dr. Rescue, Maybelline BabyLips hydrate, Neutrogena, Vaseline, Vichy, and Yves Rocher.

In Belgium, Test-Achats challenged the ministers of public Health and Consumption on the test results and requires, with other organizations, new european standards.