At Flower Power we have chosen to use Alkanet root to put a touch of pink in our luscious Gypsy Rose Lip Balm. Alkannia Tinctoria is a plant from the Borage family, the colour is produced from the roots of the plants. We macerate alkanet root in Jojoba oil using the powers of her majesty The Sun for a few weeks before we add it to our scrummy Gypsy Rose mix.
Where is the colour in your lip balm or lipstick sourced from? - Is it from mica mined by child labour, is it crushed up cochineal bug guts, is it laden with lead?
61% of lipsticks contain lead, it is used in lipsticks to make the colour last longer. It is a well established toxin that builds up in the body. It gets a big no from us.
What about mica, it is put in lipsticks to add colour, shimmer and sparkle. It is
naturally produced, safe to use and has no side effects so whats the big deal? The dark side is how it is mined. The biggest deposits of mica are found in India, mostly in the Jharkhard state which is riddled with poverty. This poverty leads to ghastly child labour. It is incredibly hard to trace the origins of mica as it is bought by intermediaries and sold on to processing companies. Big beauty giants are working on cleaning up the supply but there is no easy solution at present. Child labour is also a big no from us. So until the supplies are tidied up we won’t use mica to colour anything at Flower Power.
And the bugs you ask? Carmine is the bright red colour used in most lipsticks. Cochineal bugs Dactylopius coccus are farmed in Peru, they are a scale bug that live on the cactus plant. Its is the female bug that has the colour, she is bred on the plant then collected and boiled in ammonia. As if thats no bad enough she is then crushed and added to your lipstick, yuck!!! It takes 70,000 little lady cochineal bugs to make 1 pound of dye. That just doesn’t sit well with us here at Flower Power, we will stick with our sustainably produced Alkanet root.