I require of my summer lip balms a few things: they need to have SPF, feel hydrating, and not melt in my handbag. Are those two it? More in my Japanese lip balms with SPF review and comparison (in which I go on a tangent abouut eating sunscreen).
The skin on our lips is so much thinner than on the rest of our faces that it’s important to keep it safe from the sun as well. Coincidentally, it’s also one of the spots that get neglected the most, even with usually diligent sunscreen users.
I mostly use Paula’s Choice’s Lipscreen in summer, which I like a lot: it’s on the right side of emollient, not too waxy, with FDA-approved US filters. It doesn’t taste of anything, but has one problem: don’t carry it around on a hot day, because it will melt. That’s why I often revert to drugstore ones when I’m out and about. When I stumbled over a mention of Rohto Mentholatum Water Lip line, I was intrigued and ordered two different balms for around 4€ each.
The Brand
Rohto Mentholatum was founded when in 1975, Japanese company Rohto (founded in 1899) bought the US-company The Mentholatum Company. Rohto was famous for their eyedrops, while The Mentholatum Company was famous for their ointment and lip balms. Today, they still concentrate on beauty, health and OTC drugs. You’ll maybe know some of their Japanese brands: Hada Labo, Oxy and Sunplay. (Also, Fisherman’s Friend cough drops is a Rohto brand – fun fact of the day!)
Description
Mentholatum Water Lip Tone Up CC Pure Red
Luxurious blend of vitamins and oils such as jojoba and olive.
Amazon
Moisturizing beauty ingredients.
Moreover, it also blocks UV rays, so it is recommended for lipcare during the day. Unscented.
Rohto Mentholatum Water Lip Balm
Lip balm contains four moisturizing ingredients (super hyaluronic acid, aloe vera leaf extract, collagen and honey) to instantly hydrate and soothe lips to leave them soft and healthy.
Yesstyle
Fitted with SPF 20 PA++ to protect skin from UV rays and prevent rough lips.
Gives lips a touch of color.
Formula is fragrance-free.
What it is
Both lip balms have an SPF20 PA++ which is relatively low. Both are supposed to be tinted, although the tint is negligible. These are your regular lip balms you can twist up and down.
Ingredients
Tone Up CC ingredients
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Polyethylene, Diisostearyl Malate, C10-30 Cholesterol/Lanosterol Esters, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Lanolin, Vaseline, Microcrystalline Wax, Water, Jojoba Seed Oil, Olive Fruit Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E Derivative), Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, 1.2-Hexanediol, T- Butylmethoxydibenzoylmethane, Polyglyceryl Oleate-4, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Ba Sulfate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Titanium Dioxide, Ci 19140, Ci 15850
Incidecoder
Water Lip Balm ingredients
Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Polyethylene, Diisostearyl Malate, Petrolatum, Lanolin, Fatty Acid (C10-30) (Cholesteryl/Lanosteryl), Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Microcrystalline Wax, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate, Water-Soluble Collagen, Aloe Vera Leaf Extract, Honey, Palm Oil, Mineral Oil, Water, 1.2-Hexanediol, DPG, T- Butylmethoxydibenzoylmethane, Polyglyceryl-4 Oleate, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Synthetic Phlogopite, Dimethicone, Alumina, Titanium Oxide, Mica, Red 202, Red 226
Incidecoder
Filters
Both balms have the same filter combo, consisting of Octinoxate, Avobenzone and Titanium Oxide. Apart from the relatively low SPF, I’m not thrilled with the combo: Octinoxate isn’t the most stable UVB filter, like Avobenzone isn’t the most stable UVA filter. Both though, stabilize each other to an extent.
Let’s get to the elephant in the room, which is Octinoxate. While Octinoxate is a safe filter, it has a bad rep for both damaging reefs, and for being a possible endocrine disruptor.
The studies always mentioned when it comes to Octinoxate are studies with mice in which exponentionally large amounts of Octinoxate was not applied topically, but orally. Unsurprisingly, the outcome wasn’t good. Now, neither you and I are mice, and usually, we don’t eat sunscreen. When it comes to lip balm, we actually do.
Here’s an explanation about Octinoxate from Paula’s Choice;
‘Octinoxate is sometimes accused of being a hormone disruptor. This effect has primarily been demonstrated via oral intake of large amounts of this ingredient or examining its effect on isolated cells. In cases where a hormonal change was measured via topical application, the difference was one million-fold less than what was measured from normal hormonal activity in the body.’
And here’re two scientists quoted by Byrdie magazine:
(T)here are concerns that it could be an endocrine disruptor, notes King. As Nazarian notes, octinoxate has been shown to have potential for hormonal disruption and neurologic toxicity. “However, the studies were done in settings that had oral ingestion and other extremely high doses, which are not ‘relevant to human exposure.'” In other words, Nazarian says it’s safe when used normally and applied topically as a sunscreen. And, research shows that, when applied topically, only .002 percent of the topical amount is absorbed in the body —”a minuscule amount,” Nazarian adds.
Quote mentioned: Ruszkiewicz JA, Pinkas A, Ferrer B, Peres TV, Tsatsakis A, Aschner M. Neurotoxic effect of active ingredients in sunscreen products, a contemporary review. Toxicol Rep. 2017;4:245-259. doi:10.1016/j.toxrep.2017.05.006
Ingesting lip balm?
In other words, in a regular, topical sunscreen the filter is safe. In the US the maximum concentration in ready-for-use products is 7.5%, while in the European Union that’s 10%. (Japan often follows the EU.) Now, obviously I can’t decide for you how safe you’ll feel with Octinoxate in your lip balm, but you want to keep in mind the very low amount of product that’s actually on your lips. Also, there’re safety assessments for that (which we have seen last in the EU risk assessment of retinoids):
Application & Finish
The Water Lip Tone Up CC
This is just so lackluster. Sure, it doesn’t promise any colour above a mere tint, but to see a hint of red on my admittedly rather pigmented lips, that takes a few passes. Hydration? Barely there. And then, it’s more of a satin finish, which I don’t like a lot in my lip balms (in that regard, it’s similar to Peripera Ink Mood Glowy Balm I reviewed here). All in all, this requires a lot of swipes, and a lot of reapplication, and I’m getting more and more annoyed by this one.
The Water Lip Balm
This has more of melty, balmy texture that I actually like. It hydrates decently, but to see any colour on the lips, you’ll have to be vampire-pale. I have it in the shade Raspberry Red, and it actually works decently over a matte lipstick or lip liner. It’s very soft, though, and I assume it won’t fare well in the heat when you carry it around with you.
Comparison
I think it has become clear that I don’t love both balms. The Water Lip Tone Up CC has a very firm texture with a poor payoff, and the formula is very thin and not very moisturizing. The thing is, after a day of using it, my lips didn’t really feel good, although I regularly re-applied. The tone up effect is just a hint of colour.
I like the Water Lip Balm better. It has a melty texture that feels more hydrating, and I don’t feel the need to reapply constantly. Still, I’ve to admit that I still prefer Paula’s Choice’s Lipscreen. It has the higher protection, the more convincing filter combination and, ttbt, the nicer lip feel.
Rating
Availability & Price
4.5g are around 4$ at the usual A-Beauty sites: Yesstyle has the CC one here, and the Water Lip Balm here.
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