Allergic to Lipstick!? Help! =(

Nov 9, 2012

Bria G.

I've noticed that when ever I wear lipstick, later on in the day or even the next day I'll get bumps on my lips. Those bumps then turn into blisters and begin to peel/flake off. Gross, I know haha. I recently bought some OCC lip tars hoping I wouldn't have a reaction to it, but turns out I do. Not as extreme as using regular lipstick, but it still happens.

I've done a TINY bit of research and narrowed it down. I'm thinking I'm either allergic to an animal by product, mineral oil, or Linalool. A few years back I asked a dermatologist, but she wasn't much help. But back then I thought it was from lip chap, so I would only use Vaseline on my lips.

**Side Note: Certain fruits like kiwi, apples, pears, plums, nectarines etc. cause my lips to become very itchy, not sure if this would have any relation to this issue.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm addicted to buying lipsticks, but I can't wear them. Help! =(

Nov 9, 2012

Shelly T.

I did a little searching in regards to your reactions to certain fruits and found information about a thing called oral allergy syndrome. One of the symptoms of it is eating certain foods -- including fruits -- causing your lips to feel itchy.

Then I looked up "lipstick allergy" and found these...
http://www.dermnetnz.org/reactions/lipstick-reaction.html
http://nursing-questions.blogspot.com/2011/04/allergies-due-to-lipstick.html

It's interesting you say you've used just Vaseline on your lips. Vaseline is petroleum jelly, mineral oil being an ingredient, IIRC. So if your lips were okay with that, then I think it's safe to say you're not allergic to mineral oil. That leaves either linalool or another ingredient.

OCC lip tars are vegan, so no animal-derived ingredients there (e.g., carmine, which is often found in lipsticks, can be animal-derived -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine). But you still reacted to it. This makes me think that, while an animal by-product or another ingredient may accelerate your reaction to other lippies (or something else), my personal guess is it's one of the dyes that's doing it. But really, I think you need to see a dermatologist. (Personally, I also think your reaction to various fruits may be related.)

Just for reference, here are the liptar ingredients, taken from the Sephora website...

Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Oil, Mentha X Peprita (Peppermint) Oil, Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E), Stearalkonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate | May Contain: Silica Dimethyl Silylate, D&C Red #6, D&C Red #7, D&C Red #27, D&C Red #30, FD&C Blue #1, FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Yellow #6, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Mica.

For comparison's sake, here are the ingredients for one of Illamasqua's lippies (also taken from Sephora's site)...

Octyldodecanol, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Oleyl Alcohol, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride, Candelilla Cera (Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax), Cera Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax), Cera Alba (Beeswax), Oxidized Polyethylene, Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax), Cetyl Alcohol, Polyethylene, Tocopherol, Parfum (Fragrance) And May Contain: [+/- Titanium Dioxide Ci 77891, Iron Oxides Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499, Red 7 Ci 15850, Red 40 Lake Ci 16035, Blue 1 Lake Ci 42090, Red 21 Lake Ci 45380, Carmine Ci 75470, Red 36 Ci 12085, Manganese Violet Ci 77742, Copper/Bronze Powder Ci 77400, Yellow 5 Lake Ci 19140, Yellow 6 Lake Ci 15985, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Silica, Tin Oxide, Mica] (Eu Exclusive Shades May Contain: Ci 77007, Ci 77000). May contain Carmine as a colour additive.

Nov 9, 2012

MiMi A.

Sorry to hear about that. That's a bummer. I'm no doctor but if I were in that situation I'd go back to the dermatologist. This time to a different doctor, not the same one you went to the last time. This way, you could get another opinion and hopefully a better answer. If you can, try and find out the ingredients in the lipsticks you have. See if there is one or more of the same ingredients in all of the lipsticks. Then next time you shop, try finding one without them. Thats if you still want to try again; because you don't want your lips to become inflamed. So just be careful if you want to try another lipstick again. If you still can't wear them, you could try taking Vaseline and a really pigmented eyeshadow or pigment, and turn it into a colored lip balm of your choice. Hopefully that won't cause a bad reaction, and you'll be able to have a lip color. But if that doesn't work then I would just stop wearing it and get used to just wearing Vaseline. If you can wear regular lip gloss thats good too. Its better to sacrifice no lipstick, than to ruin your lips. Just a suggestion. Hope this helps. :)

Nov 10, 2012

Bria G.

Wow. Thank you! Yeah I'll definitely get back to a dermatologist. Hopefully there's a way I can work around it...like some kind of "primer" so the lipstick doesn't irritate my lips.

Sep 10, 2015

Dustbath B.

I have an avocado allergy that has been a little difficult to deal with since avocado oil is a really hot ingredient in cosmetics right now. You might look to see if products have it that bother your lips. Since you mentioned some fruits bother you, it came to mind. Another indication would be if you have any reaction to eating avocado. For me it's like severe food poisoning.

Oct 21, 2017

Justine L.

I see this is a super old post but thought I would mention some ingredients in lipsticks that I am allergic to and might be the culprit for you. I am allergic to aloe, lanolin, and phenoxyethanol. It is very rare to be allergic to aloe but I am. Lanolin is very common (are you allergic to wool?) if so that could be the culprit as it is in many lipsticks. I am 99% sure I am allergic to phenoxyethanol just through process of elimination but not 100%. I have been wearing CharlotteTilbury lipsticks the past few days and getting a reaction but they don't have any of these 3 ingredients so I think I am allergic to more than 3 which is how I stumbled upon this page. I hope this helps!