allergic contact cheilitis of the vermilion margin

Sorry your lips are suffering! If you suspect an allergy, it would be best to go to a dermatologist. She'd be able to help you identify the allergen with more certainty so you can can stay clear of it in the future.

Here are the common allergens in lipstick - you can try if you tolerate the products without these (it is close to impossible to find a product that does not include any of them, so a good place to start is to look at the product that gives you a reaction, and find alternatives that exclude at least one ingredient that is both in that product and in the list below:

- Nickel (comes from metal casing - so it's safer to go for plastic packaging)

- Castor oil. It is used in most lipsticks because it's a formulators' favorite for creating the typical lipstick texture, and it is also used as a solvent for pigments

- Lanolin

- Beeswax

- Copernicia cerifera (carnauba) wax

- Pigments. For example, D&C Yellow 11 (INCI name: CI 47000), D&C Red 7 (INCI name: CI 15850), D&C Red 17 (INCI name: CI 26100) , D&C Red 21 (INCI name: CI 45380), D&C Red 36 (INCI name: CI 12085); Lithol Rubine (INCI name: CI 15850); FD&C Red 3 (INCI Name: CI 45430), FD&C Red 40 (INCI name: CI 16035)

- Fragrances & flavorings (natural and synthetic)

- Vitamin E (Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate)

- Some preservatives and anti-oxidants: Diazolidinyl urea, Quaternium-15, Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, Methyldibromo glutaronitrile, Methylisothiazolinone, Propyl gallate, Butylhydroxytoluene (BHT).

We do not recommend to trust the claims that a product or brand is "hyporallergenic": most of these products still contain common allergens. Mineral makeup brands are also not less likely to trigger an allergy as they tend to use the same ingredients, including pigments, fragrance and waxes.