Page 89 - Veritas Vol 3, Issue 2

76

TOXINS PRESENT IN

LIPSTICKS AND ITS

FORENSIC

SIGNIFICANCE

ABSTRACT

Lipstick is one of the most widely used products in the cosmetics industry for

providing additional color, protection, moisturization, and lip texture. Lipsticks

are made up of wax, emollients, and oil, and several pigments are used to impart
pigments to them. But nowadays, harmful substances like petroleum-based
chemicals, preservatives, and antioxidants are present as ingredients in lipsticks.

Lipsticks are one of the most crucial pieces of trace evidence in the field of

forensic science. Lipstick samples can be categorized and analyzed using ATR-
FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and other multivariate statistical

methods.

INTRODUCTION

Skincare and cosmetics are some of the latest trends. And when it comes to
cosmetics, lip cosmetics like lipsticks and lip balms are used by both men and

women. Lipsticks are made up of both organic and inorganic substances. It is a
major part of everyone's routine, but the sad reality is that the majority of the

substances used in lipsticks are not safe to use. Lips are one of the sensitive parts
of the human body and they absorb the products applied to it through the skin

layers. The lips are not protected by hair, wax, or sweat glands making it less
vulnerable to natural defences like other parts of the body. When continuously

exposed to these substances it could lead to long-term health issues. The

majority of the time lipsticks are ingested to the body by unknowingly licking it
and the carcinogenic ingredients are also ingested.

VERITAS VOLUME: 3, ISSUE: 2 WRITERS: ANANYA SUBRAMANIAN, RAKESH S