10 Most Disgusting Ingredients In Your Cosmetics

Animals, Lists, Science, Shocking, Weird

Almost everyone has used cosmetics and toiletries during their life. Even if you aim to use the most natural ingredients, chances are one of these has made its way into your favorite lotion, soap or lipstick. We’re not talking about all of the yucky chemicals here. No, some of these ingredients come from places, animals, and even people, that will make your stomach churn and it’s guaranteed you’ll never think of lotion the same way again after reading this! Here are the 10 most disgusting ingredients found in many everyday cosmetics and toiletries.

Dynamite, Facial Scrubs and Toothpaste?

When making dynamite, there is something called diatomaceous earth, a soft rock that is ground into a powder that’s used to stabilize nitroglycerin in dynamite form when it’s transported. It’s also used in many abrasive, everyday products such as toothpaste and body and facial scrubs.

Crushed Beetles

Next time you’re reapplying your lipstick, remember that you are smearing crushed beetles on your lips. Cochineal beetles excrete a red chemical called carminic acid. After mixing it with calcium salts, it makes carmine, a red dye that creates the pigment in lipstick.

Ambergris

You’ll never look at your perfume the same way again. Aside from all the musks, florals and woodsy notes, there’s also something called ambergis. This secretion is made in the sperm whale’s digestive system and pooped or vomited out. After floating around for years in the ocean, it becomes a waxy solid that’s used to make scents last longer in perfumes. It’s only legal for trade and use within Switzerland and France.

Snail Goop

If you’ve ever put a nice cream on your face, then you’ve probably heard of glycolic acid and elastin. But what you probably didn’t realize is that glycolic acid comes from the slimy goop that snails secrete.

Sheep Wool Oil

When you feel that silky smooth feeling after applying lotion or shaving your legs, chances are you’re using a product with an ingredient called lanolin. Lanolin comes from sheep wool oil, also known as wool wax, and is used in many toiletries such as shaving creams, lotions and moisturizers. And the good news is that it is cruelty free.

Crystallized Guanine

You know that shimmer you find in shampoo and nail polish? It’s not fairy dust, that’s for sure. The shimmer actually comes from crystallized guanine, a pearly substance that is basically fish scales.

Bull Semen

You’re probably not thinking about bulls, much less their semen, when you’re conditioning your hair. And while it’s probably not in your personal conditioner, there are beauty salons that mix bull semen with other ingredients for treating extremely dry hair.

Shark Liver Oil

When you skin needs to quench its thirst, it’s normal to slather on some lotion. In your lotion, squalene is the main ingredient that soothes dry skin. And most lotions acquire their squalene from shark liver oil.

Bird Droppings

Bird poop and facials don’t seem like they go together, but alas, they do. Guanine is extracted from bird droppings and used as a skin brightener in fancy facial treatments.

Baby Foreskins

This one takes the cake for weirdness. Who knew that baby foreskins make something called fibroblasts, a kind of cell that plays a huge role in healing? It’s also used in top tier, anti-aging products.