Buggy Makeup? The History of Carmine-Based Pigements

Bugs in makeup. That's not something you particularly want to read about, but let's learn about how red coloured makeup came to be.

Lipstick is what you probably tend to think of whenever you think of red makeup, unless you're more adventurous than I am

Reds are commonly found in makeup, and similar dyes can be used in paints, food, and clothes, it all depends on how the pigments are made, and what they are approved for. There can be lots of variations on similar compounds based on their specifications, such as being food-safe or safe to wear, but did you know where many red pigments used to come from?

Red E120 is a popular dye, and has been used for a really long time in a wide range of industries. It's commonly known as "Carmine Red".

Cute name, right?

Beauty influencer, or buggy influencer?

Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) insects were used to create the red dye carmine.

Funnily enough, it was only the female insect to be used as they produce carminic acid when they are dried. Roughly 14-26% of the dried female body contains carminic acid, which is not a whole lot, but better than nothing, right?

These techniques have been used since the 16th Century, and creates a vibrant crimson dye, and there is even evidence that this was used in the Aztec period.

Thankfully, we've found a way to create red dyes now which don't include dead and dried insects, but it's fascinating to know the chemical history of our makeup. Bit too much stick insect in the lipstick

That was a bad pun, apologies, and not even a correct one! Cochineal are scale insects, not stick insects.

Before you start to feel too bad for them, be aware that cochineal are parasitic, especially to cacti.

Does this make you look at your products differently? I'm sure the cacti were happy that the use of carminic acid was discovered and utilised.