Have you ever wondered how lipstick is made? Well Discovery Channel’s show, “How It’s Made”, has cleared your doubts! I have outlined the process below. Have fun learning!

Lipstick Ingredients:

  • Wax sticks
  • Pigments
  • Moisturizers

Procedure:

  1. A worker pre-weighs all the ingredients following a customized formula as mandated by each company.
  2. The ingredients are poured into a huge kettle that melts and mixes everything together.
  3. A plant based solution known as plantolatum, that acts as a skin softener and allows one to apply the lipstick easily, is then poured into the kettle.
  4. Many different types of waxes are also added to create the base mixture.
  5. Simultaneously, a batch of pigment is made using different iron oxide colorants.
  6. It is poured onto rollers that smoothens the pigment while rolling it into sheet form. This is repeated approximately 3 times.
  7. The temperature of the base mixture will be lowered when the pigment has to be added in.
  8. The pigment is combined with the base mixture to make it thick and creamy.
  9. When it comes to the right consistency to be shaped into lipstick, the mixture is poured into a filling machine.
  10. Next, a mold is placed under the filling machine.
  11. The molds are placed on a conveyor which takes them through a 5 foot long cooling tunnel. This process solidifies the lipstick.
  12. A rack is placed on the molds.
  13. The swiveling lipstick cases are placed upside down on the rack.
  14. The combination of mold, racks, and cases are placed on another machine which pumps air in order to push the lipstick out of the mold and into the case.
  15. After carefully removing the rack, the lipsticks pass through heat guns that slightly melts them enough to give them their shine.
  16. To check for consistency, a sample from each batch of lipstick is tested by taking a small extract and placing them on a glass piece. By heating the extract, the melting point is checked whether it is within an acceptable range.

Voila! Lipstick is finished 🙂

To watch this on video, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUioSOvLTPU

*****

By Maya 🙂