Answer 1:
These are the ingredients that are most often
used in lip gloss or chap sticks:
Ingredients: Lanolin Oil, Hydroylated Lanolin,
Polybutene, Microcrystalline Wax, Ethylhexyl
Palmitate, Isopropyl Myristate, Ceresin, Isopropyl
Lanolate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sesamum
Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Allantoin, Tocopherol,
Ascorbyl Palmitate, Propylparaben, Fragrance.
May contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides,
Mica, Carmine, Red 6 Lake, Red 7 Lake, Red 21, Red
27 Lake, Red 30 Lake, Red 33 Lake, Red 36, Orange
5, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Blue 1 Lake.
What it means is that lipsticks are made of a
solid waxy material (it has to spread
easily but stay solid in the tube) like Lanolin
Oil, Hydroylated Lanolin, Polybutene,
Microcrystalline Wax different pigments (
for color) like Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides,
Mica, Carmine, Red 6 Lake, Red 7 Lake, Red 21, Red
27 Lake, Red 30 Lake, Red 33 Lake, Red 36, Orange
5, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Blue 1 Lake and
esters or fatty acids (myristates) to give
it a stickiness for example Ethylhexyl Palmitate,
Isopropyl Myristate, Ceresin, Isopropyl Lanolate
Wheat Germ Triglycerides, Aloe Extract, Soyabean
OilMost; often the companies add a
fragrance for better smell.
How does lip gloss work? Lips chap when
they get too dry. Dry air for example can pull
moisture out of the top layer of the epidermis
faster than it can diffuse in from the underlying
layers, causing it to dry out. This is true all
over the body in arid weather, however thinner
layers, especially on the lips, dry to the point
of becoming brittle and cracking open with the
slightest movement. So, the most important
consideration in treating chapped lips is keeping
the skin sufficiently hydrated. The best way to do
this is to apply a sealant to the skin which
prevents water from escaping. This works by simply
covering the lips with a material that is
impermeable to water. In all cases, this
impermeable material is some form of long-chain
hydrocarbons (or fatty acids), the differences in
length and saturation of the carbon chains
determining whether the balm is waxy or greasy.
In terms of actual molecular interactions,
about the only forces at play in lip balms are
Van der Waal forces and hydrophobicity.
Van der Waal's force involves the attraction
between non-polar molecules due to transient
polarization of their electron clouds. This is the
weakest of molecular forces but is still
sufficient to hold the long-chain hydrocarbon
molecules snugly together so that water molecules
have a hard time getting through. The
interactions between the wax/grease molecules help
to form a solid barrier to water, but more
importantly, water doesn't try to cross the
barrier because wax and oils are hydrophobic,
meaning they repel water. Thank you for asking
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