The Chemistry of Lipstick
Lipstick is composed primarily of oils and waxes such as beeswax, costor oil, carnauba wax, and mineral oil, with dyes and pigments added in an oil suspension. However, there are also some more complex chemicals involved in the process of lipstick.
(Fig. 3 - Lipstick)
For example, titanium dioxide, a whitening agent, is used in many lipsticks. The formula for titanium dioxide is TiO2. However, Ti + O2 does not simply produce TiO2. Rather, titanium dioxide comes from ilmenite treated with sulfuric acid. Ilmenite is a naturally occurring black mineral, and sulfuric acid is a very strong acid. The formula for ilmenite is FeO•TiO2, and the formula for sulfuric acid is H2SO4. Therefore, we can deduce that FeO•TiO2 + H2SO4 >> TiO2 + FeO + H2SO4. Here, the acidic H2SO4 serves to strip the iron II oxide unit away from the TiO2.
(Fig. 4 - Titanium Dioxide, a whitening agent that comes in the form of a white powder)
Another chemical used in lipstick is butyl stearate, which has the formula C17H35COOC4H9. Although this looks like a very complex molecule, the elements involved are quite simple -- carbon, found in all organic matter, and hydrogen and oxygen, which are found in numerous sources, such as water. To produce butyl stearate, one must take the ester of stearic acid (which has a formula of CH3(CH2)16COOH) and butanol, also known as butyl alcohol (which has a formula of (CH3)3COH).
(Fig. 5 - Lipstick)