We slather our faces and bodies with tons of beauty products and weird cosmetic ingredients , regularly. But, how often do we make an effort to check the ingredients in cosmetics? Rarely, right? However, it’s not a healthy habit since several cosmetics ingredients are extremely weird and gross.
Once you get to know about them, you’re going to make an extra effort to be aware of the active ingredients of cosmetics that you use. While many brands employ extremely beneficial ingredients to manufacture cosmetics, others don’t and in this article, we’ll be talking about cosmetics ingredients that will blow your mind. Are you ready? Read along!
Absurd Weird Cosmetic Ingredients
Here are the list of 9 weird cosmetic ingredients you had no idea about:
Rust
Surprised? Hold on. Have you ever noticed the mention of ferrous oxide, when you check ingredients in cosmetics? If you have and ended up buying the product, you’ve been using rust on your face or body. Lotions and creams that have a pink hue often have rust particles, instead of food coloring or other coloring agents, as is preached by brands. It’s important to know the formula of the product you’re using before you apply it to yourself. Have you been facing skin issues lately? Check your cosmetics ingredients right away!
Snail slime
The Korean beauty regimes are extremely popular worldwide because of their ability to make your skin look and feel great if you’re regular enough in following them. The 10-step Korean skincare routine has become a go-to of fashion fanatics.
However, did you know that Korean beauty products use active cosmetics ingredients as weird as snail slime? As gross it may sound, it is known that snail slime can contribute to enhancing your skin tone and adding a healthy glow to your skin due to the presence of elastin, certain acids, and proteins. Are you convinced though? Let that sink in.
Hot pepper
Do you ever feel a burning sensation or a tingly feeling when you apply a makeup product on your face or your lips? If you do, there are chances that the cosmetic ingredients used have a role to play in it. Hot pepper is used in cosmetics like lip tints, lip plumpers, and lipsticks, to make your lips appear fuller and plumper, owing to the brand’s promises. Are you fine applying something as spicy as hot pepper on your face? We’re surely not.
Bug shells
Lipsticks are originally supposed to derive their color from organic substances like berries and other plant particles. However, dusted bug shells are not the kind of organic that we were looking for. It has been found out that the shells of insects are often crushed and used in lipsticks after they are chemically processed in factories. So the next time you apply a beautiful color on your lips, you won’t be able to help but wonder whether you’re applying the shell of a bug on your lip or not. Not a pleasant feeling, is it?
Bird poop
Products that guarantee skin moisturization and hydration can do so because they often use gross cosmetics ingredients like bird poop, which has moisturizing properties, owing to the concentration of amino acids, and urea, rich in nitrogen. You would be even more amazed to know that using bird poop as an active ingredient of cosmetics is not something new on our horizon and has existed since the prevalence of geisha facials. It seems like the beauty industry has made peace with the fact that they apply the excreta of birds on themselves but we won’t be able to do the same, anytime soon.
Fish scales
This one feels disgusting at first but once you compare it with several other cosmetics ingredients, it’s way better and we consume fish as well. Raw fish scales are off-limits but we can’t do much about it. The reason behind using them in cosmetics ingredients like lipsticks, lip glosses, and nail paints is quite logical. Fish scales have a natural sheen and when they are processed and added to beauty products, the shine is sustained and gives a beautiful glow when applied to the skin. If you become too paranoid about it and complain about fish odor while applying lipstick, it’s not on us.
Related: 12 Thoughts A Girl Has On Wearing Lip Gloss
Sheep grease
According to beauty experts and dermatologists, lanolin or Sheep grease is very effective for moisturizing your skin and hair. As absurd as it may sound, it’s an emollient that’s great for hydrating your body. Due to this reason, it is used as an ingredient for cosmetics in several products like lotions, creams, lipsticks, lip balms, and makeup removers as well. Can we complain about applying sheep grease, given the other ingredients that are a part of this list? Probably, no.
Bee venom
Can venom be good for reducing your signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles? Looks like it does. Bee venom has a concentration of 18 components that are pharmacologically active ingredients of cosmetics, such as peptides and enzymes. Some products testify to the fact that bee venom does wonder for the skin. Would you try it out? Sounds thrilling for sure!
Ambergris
Also known as whale vomit, this is often used in scented beauty products manufactured by well-known brands. This slimy substance has a sweet odor, suitable for perfumes as well. There are chances that the cosmetics ingredients of your favorite scent include ambergris. Are you disgusted enough to change it? We wouldn’t be surprised.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve talked about cosmetics ingredients that were as gross as they can get, it’s time you research more on the products that you use daily. Go through the list of ingredients thoroughly and invest in them only if you’re sure about them. Not all brands use obscure ingredients but the high-end brands that do, are more trustworthy than local ones. It’s time you check the ingredients of the cosmetic products you already own. You might just prepare to see something that you didn’t notice earlier.
Also, read: Kylie Cosmetics vs Fenty Beauty