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May 1, 2008 5:49 pm US/Eastern
No Lip Service: Study Links Lip Gloss To Cancer
DALLAS (CBS4) ―
We already know that cigarettes and sunbathing can cause cancer, but now there's a new warning about potentially cancer causing lip gloss.
When women glop on the gloss, many believe they're protecting their lips when actually they could be hurting them.
Research conducted at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas discovered that cosmetic lip balms and glosses attract ultraviolet rays, increasing the wearer's risk of developing skin cancer. In other words, that shiny lip gloss is magnifying the sun's effects.
Lip protection is very important because the skin on lips is very thin and more prone to ageing from sun damage. In addition, doctors say lip cancer is the most common and aggressive form of skin cancer.
Signs of lip cancer: - White or orange spots on your lips
- If you have a sore on your lips lasting more than 2 weeks
- Peeling, flaking or chapping lips
Doctors say in order to prevent lip cancer, wear some form of sunscreen on your lips just like you do on the rest of your body.
Tips to prevent lip cancer:
- Use lip balm with SPF 30 sunscreen
- Wear matte lipstick instead of lip gloss
- Use products with Titanium Dioxide
- Mix lipstick and gloss with Zinc Oxide
An estimated 3,500 new cases of skin cancer of the lips are diagnosed each year, and 90 percent of those cancers are squamous cell carcinoma. While that form of cancer isn't usually particularly serious, it can be more aggressive on the lips than on other parts of the skin. If left untreated, it can cause disfigurement, and in very few cases, it can spread to other organs and become deadly.
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