Makeup pigments

I'm on the guaifenesin protocol for fibromyalgia, which has been working quite well for me for the past three years or so. Salicylate molecules block the effectiveness of the medication, so we have to watch what what we put on our skin, as salicylates are readily absorbed.

The only makeup item that proved especially problematic to buy locally was lipstick. Mail-order companies like Andrea Rose make a castor-oil free lipstick.  Castor oil is a a major ingredient in lipstick, but contains salicylates.

I decided to make my own lip glosses, so I ordered a bunch of mineral pigments and I mix the colors I want with petroleum jelly. Works well for me.  I also liked receiving my mineral pigments in the mail, it brought me back to the days when we looked at such things in geology school. *sigh*

My learnings: one, all makeup is basically pigments in a medium. It always was "mineral" makeup! Two, if you want botanicals in your makeup, you have to add preservatives or the makeup will get moldy very quickly.  It seems a bit ironic to me that to have the benefit of the botanicals you have to add the preservative. Actually I have no strong opinion on preservatives, I know that some folks are dead-set against them; I haven't looked into the topic for myself.

I know this is a bit of a rabbit trail on the topic of color in clothing, but it's been a while since I blogged, and my lip gloss supply was diminished. So here I write about it.