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EOS Lip Balm Debacle
Hi everyone,
I was wondering what your professional opinions are on the EOS lawsuit?More info here: - **warning - gross pictures of rashes**-My wild amateur guess is that some fake/counterfeit EOS lip balms have entered into the distribution stream. I’m basing my guess on the first picture on the page - the EOS container is a bright lime green color - and I do not believe EOS sells any products in this color. They have a very specific signature color scheme that they keep to. They’re pretty popular so I can see it being worthwhile to make up some fakes and try to sell them. Also there are lots of EOS lip balms for sale on Ebay & shipping from Hong Kong - which kind of leads me to guess that there is at least a reasonable possibility that they could be fakes.I see a lot of people calling for EOS to use “higher quality ingredients” in their products - and blaming their “inferior” ingredients for the problems.Here are the ingredients (for the mint flavor):Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Beeswax (Cire D’abeille)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract*, Tocopherol, Limonene**, Linalool**. *Organic. **Component of Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*. Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth.What do you think about that argument?Another thing I’m hearing is that people are finding mold growing on their lip balms. This also appears to be causing an uproar…What do you think about the mold issue?To my knowledge the mold has only been found after the balm has been used and left to sit for some time. (never on a fresh out of the box product)I would just assume that any product that is made from natural oils - that you touch with your mouth - and has access to air - left at room temp - would get moldy when left to sit.Anyway, I’m really curious to hear what you think! -
18 Replies
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1. The first ingredient is known to cause skin problems, what were they thinking?
2. Any product that grows mould within a reasonable usage period is not properly preserved. I see no preservative at all, in their LOI. Stupid. They deserve what’s coming to them. -
And right here, we have the two major problems with “Certified Organic” cosmetic products.
Leaving aside the very questionable value of “Certified Organic” in general and in non-food items specifically, we have the problems of 1) No effective “certified organic” broad-spectrum preservative exists, and 2) Just because an ingredient is a safe ingredient for food, and it’s “Certified Organic” does NOT mean that it’s safe on skin for long periods of time.And yes, @ZenTheDog, any anhydrous product, using natural oils or not, if exposed to even the slightest bit of moisture has the likelihood of mold growth if it’s not preserved.Also, “higher quality ingredients”? Unless that means synthetics, the people calling for that have clearly lost all ability to think rationally. This problem has absolutely nothing, in any possible way, to do with inferior ingredients. -
I wonder if the problem is primarily, or exclusively, with their products that contain Peppermint Oil. Peppermint Oil in a lip product is not a very good idea and would cause this kind of problem for many people. And, of course, there is no preservative. There are ECOCert preservatives that they could have used that would not have affected their Organic Certification.
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Thanks for your input everyone!@MarkBroussard - the problem is not limited to the peppermint flavor but also includes balms from their standard product line and “visibly soft” line (which is a different formulation)Visibly Soft “Blackberry Nectar”:Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Beeswax/Cera Alba (Cire d’abeille)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Natural Flavor, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Sodium Isostearoyl Lactylate, Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf/Stem Extract, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Rubus Fruticosis (Blackberry) Fruit Extract.Since I posted this it appears that EOS is being slammed on their social media pages.A few choice excerpts:- It’s the beeswax! Never use beeswax!- This is why I never use natural products!- They changed the formula to save money! (ingredient lists are the same)- They started making them in China to save money! (no)My favorite:- They’re intentionally buying contaminated ingredients that were supposed to be destroyed from China because they’re cheaper!Oy!!
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To be fair, I think the class action lawsuit is a bit much. Lots of people are allergic to different components of cosmetics.
However, @bobzchemist is right, there is a problem with organic cosmetics.I hope we see more lawsuits like this to discourage people from launching products that are not properly tested or don’t have a suitable preservative system. I’m still surprised no one went after Badger Sunscreen company for selling contaminated products. -
Actually, you’re both wrong about Organic Cosmetics. The problem has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the ingredients are Certified Organic … The problem has to do with the fact that the company selected ingredients that were inappropriate for use in a lip balm product … known skin irritants, particularly the peppermint (menthol). And, the fact that they did not include a preservative in the product.
Those errors can happen with any cosmetic product. Skin irritants and no preservative … that is the issue at play here. -
It appears they put limonene is all of their lip products … no surprises there.
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I suspect the limonene comes in with the fragrance/flavor.
I agree the problem isn’t the certified organic ingredients. Those ingredients are perfectly fine. The problem is the people who market organic cosmetics put Marketing considerations over Product Safety. -
I don’t think I said what I meant all that well. @MarkBroussard, I agree with you - they absolutely chose to use ingredients that were inappropriate for lip products. My statement was supposed to speak towards why they chose to use them. I strongly suspect that the formulators assumed, because the ingredients were natural, certified organic, and GRAS for food, that they would automatically be safe for use on skin. They’re not.
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Well, I think what is clear that someone made a combination of bad formulation, marketing and business choices. Anyone who knows what they’re doing would not have chosen a lip flavor ingredient high in limonene, and then so proudly highlighting it on their LOI. Sounds like they simply did not do enough testing on the products prior to launch. Or, maybe they did and these are just a few cases of negative reactions over millions of consumers. Regardless, they have one PR and legal problem on their hands.
Yes, Bob, I understand your point. But, it’s the formulators who are at fault, not the ingredients. -
“… put Marketing considerations over Product Safety.”
Great point Perry! -
Has anyone taken a look at the actual lawsuit?
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I’m curious; EOS claims that their products are hypoallergenic. Because some of the essential oils are known to cause allergic reactions, how can they make the hypoallergenic claim? I assume they’ve done claims testing. Any idea what the threshold is to make the hypoallergenic claim?
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Hypoallergenic has no legal meaning so pretty much anyone can call themselves hypoallergenic.
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To also address this, just about any compound can elicit an allergic response. Keep in mind (as many miss, a marketing driven fallacy), whether an ingredient is naturally derived or synthetic has no bearing on its potential allergenicity. (“I can only use natural preservatives since I am allergic to all the synthetic ones.”)
In this case, one of a rare few clients used the product and demonstrated a reaction. It is hotly under debate what was the allergen here (Shea Butter, the fragrance, even the Stevia which incidentally I learned this week can commonly cause this reaction). Could they have formulated the product to be less allergenic? Perhaps.
But in the end (as I have always attested) EOS’s deficiency here was using all the available component labeling space for marketing and missing a simple statement such as “If you react to this product, discontinue and consult with a Medical professional is needed.” I had an EOS in my standards library as a client once wanted to make a similar product and sent it to me. The packaging was devoid of any such warning.
Now EOS will redo their labeling to close this area of liability, settle and likely go on to continue to be a popular brand.
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When we designed our labels we analysed the content of common brands in the supermarkets and used the same format, which includes a note as to discontinue use if reactions occur.
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