Is your lipstick made out of dye from Cochineal bugs? Fact check

Claim: Video shows manufacturing process of Lipstick from dye made out of Cochineal insects.

Conclusion: It’s true. Some lipsticks brands use a dye made from Cochineal insects.

Rating: True —

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Or Read the article below.

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A video being shared on social media shows the manufacturing process of ‘Lipstick’ using dye made out of Cochineal insects. Digiteye India received a video on its Whatsapp tipline to check if the video whether it’s true or not.

When we further checked on YouTube, we found similar claims showing how the lipstick is manufactured.

FACT-CHECK:

Digiteye India took up the request for checking as many women and girls around the world use lipstick on a daily basis. In fact, every manufacturer accepted openly about using products containing animal or insects as byproducts to make a dye in colour.

Cochineal bug is primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America (Mexico and the Southwest United States), this insect lives on cacti, feeding on plant moisture and nutrients. These insects are found on the pads of prickly pear cacti, collected by brushing them off the plants, and dried.

The female cochineal bugs are collected, dried in the sun, smashed, then mixed with an acidic alcohol to get vibrant colors ranging from crimson to pink, red, purple, or peach. The insect produces carminic acid that deters predation by other insects.

Carminic acid, which typically weighs 17–24 per cent of dried insects’ total weight, can be extracted from the body and eggs, then mixed with aluminium or calcium salts to make carmine dye, also known as cochineal. Today, carmine is primarily used as a colorant in food and in lipsticks as well (E120 or Natural Red 4).

And the Carminic acid (C22H20O13) is a red glucosidal hydroxyanthrapurin that occurs naturally in these cochineal insects. The claim has been reinforced by PETA (People for the ethical treatment of animals) in its report on cosmetics, titled: “Makeup Enthusiasts: Stop Smearing Dead Bugs on Your Face”

Even the BBC science focus corroborates usage of Cochineal bugs’ dye in lipsticks.

There are many videos showing lipstick making process using Cochineal bugs dye. You can watch below some videos:

Red colour also comes from synthetic dye (made from coal/tar/petroleum byproducts) but since there is a restriction or limit on usage of artificial colors in consumer products, manufacturers/many top brands use cochineal dye mentioning it as natural on their labels and use it in their products.

If the label on food products or lipstick states: “Carmine(Color additive or colorant E120) , CI 75470,” “cochineal extract,” “crimson lake,” “natural red 4,” or “carmine”  — it means the product contains dried and boiled cochineal bugs. In red color lipstick, it is unavoidable. Hence, the claim that some lipsticks contain dye made from Cochineal bugs is TRUE. Consumers need to check the product labels to confirm it.

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