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Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:38 pm  |
Over the years, I’ve often seen the statistic quoted that the average women consumes 4 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime. I was chatting with my daughter and mentioned that figure, and she called me up short and said that this didn’t make sense. So we started calculating: The average lipstick contains about 4 grams of lipstick, though a good bit is in the base and needs to be dug out. Let’s assume, then , that about 3 grams of lipstick is usable before you hit the flat end of the tube. Four pounds works out to 1814 grams, rounded to 1800 for ease of calculation. That’s 600 full lipsticks, used all the way to the nub. I don’t know about you, but most of the lipsticks I’ve used in my lifetime get discarded because I get bored with the color, or they get old, or they melt, or they get lost. Precious few get used all the way.
Still, we wondered if it is possible that the average women uses up the *equivalent* of 600 lipsticks in a lifetime. So, more calculations—we found a website where some women tried to discover exactly how many uses you get from a tube of lipstick. They applied a new tube to the subject’s leg (!) till it ran out, measured the lipstick covered surface area, and figured that the equivalent in lip-uses is about 450 to a tube.
So, based on those figures, in order to use up 4 pounds of lipstick, you’d need to apply it 270,000 times—450 applications per tube x 600 tubes to add up to 4 pounds. Now let’s assume that our “average woman” begins wearing lipstick at 15, and continues to do so daily without ever missing a day for the next 60 years. (I know, that is certainly far, far more than average usage, but we’re trying to figure out if the 4 pounds statistic is close to correct.) Her “lipstick career” between the ages of 15 and 75 amounts to 60 years, times 365 days in a year, or a lipstick lifetime of 21,900 days. So, in order to consume her 4 pounds, or 270,000 applications, she’ll need to re-apply more than 12 times a day, every day for 60 years!
Actually, she’d almost certainly have to apply even more often than that to “consume” the full 4 pounds. These calculations assume that she consumes every last bit of lipstick that she ever applies. If she blots any on to tissues, that bit isn’t consumed. Any that she leaves on glasses or silverware isn’t consumed, as is any kissed off by good friends or accidentally deposited on clothing or wiped off because she changed her mind about what to wear that day. Subtracting out these unconsumed “lost” bits of lipstick probably pushes the application requirement closer to 20 times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for a full sixty years. Clearly a gross exaggeration for the average woman, and pretty close to impossible even for a lipstick-maniac to achieve. (Even lips2kiss doesn’t require that kind of total dedication!) Based on these calculations, the average woman probably consumes no more than a few ounces of lipstick lifetime. So color me embarrassed, and I’ll never quote the 4 pounds statistic again!  |
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Late 50's, fair warm-toned skin, dryish except in T zone; regular user of CSRx Vitamin C, Avene Diacneal, Avene tinosorb sunscreen, Pro Light LED, and experiments on and off with many products. |
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Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:27 pm |
| Complete BS, I say. Thanks for your little calculation, Flit. NOW we have something more concrete (and valid) to quote LOL. |
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41 combination skin. Chanel Mat Lumiere Extreme in Beige Ambre for colour ref. I don't wear foundation anymore (thanks to this board I have better and healthier skin than when I was younger). Skincare staples: Retin A, Cleansing oil to remove makeup, BHA cleanser for hormonal breakouts, aloe vera gel, sunscreen. |
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Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:37 pm |
I never bought that "Urban Legend" LOL
I am incredibly impressed by your willingness to do all the calculations needed to figure that out! That's dedication to getting at the facts!
DM
It does sound like a fun and educational mother-daughter time well spent! |
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I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
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Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:16 pm |
| Very impressive work! Thanks for going through all this trouble! I was so bothered by the fact that I might end up consuming 4lbs. of lipstick in my lifetime that I stopped wearing lipstick about 2 yrs. ago. I only wear a lip liner and a touch of gloss. |
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Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:15 am |
OMG flitcraft...you are my hero. I love you for figuring this out...haha.
Looks like I'm way behind on my 4 pounds of consumption! |
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32, Fair Skin, combo/break-out prone. Simple routine of REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm and Argan oil as a moisturizer; Clarisonic when needed. That's it! |
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Tue Dec 22, 2009 8:38 am |
Fantastic work flitcraft! I am really pleased when I see cosmetic product consumers looking beyond urban legend, internet rumors, and marketing spin.... to find the real truth by using math and science.... and even more importantly "common sense" which persuaded you to perform the calculations in the first place.
Outstanding!
John |
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President and Chief Formulator, Never Over The Hill Cosmetics, Patend holder, Award winning cosmetic chemist, neveroverthehill.com, Age 51 and staying young forever! |
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Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:36 pm |
Considering that we probably consume at least 20 pounds of dead insects over a lifetime, I'd say that 4 pounds of lipstick doesn't sound too bad.
BF |
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Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:28 pm |
It's pretty obvious that we don't "consume" 4 pounds of lipstick in a lifetime. We may however, "consume" 4 pounds in the economic sense. We are consumers of goods meaning we buy them. We are said to consume the goods and replace/repurchase them when we need more.
If an average tube of lipstick contains 4 grams of product, then over our lifetime we may purchase 450 tubes. Some would be for consumption or personal use; some would be tossed simply because we don't like the colour or some other attribute of the product; some would be lost or misplaced; and some may be purchased for others. Given a 60 year purchasing span, it may be possible to "consume" 4 pounds of lipstick, but that statistic would only apply if you were referring to economic terminology. |
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Born 1953; Blonde-Blue; Normal skin |
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Tue Dec 22, 2009 4:34 pm |
| Of course, if we were talking about economic consumption, lipstick would be the least of our worries. I had to clean out my father's one bedroom apartment after he passed away and I found at least *twenty* sets of nail clippers. That's nearly as many as I have of lipsticks. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I do hold my end up in the lipstick department.) |
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Late 50's, fair warm-toned skin, dryish except in T zone; regular user of CSRx Vitamin C, Avene Diacneal, Avene tinosorb sunscreen, Pro Light LED, and experiments on and off with many products. |
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Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:31 pm |
The perfect topic for a lipstick lover like flitcraft....and me! I think I could use this as conversation at a girlfriend party.... thanks  |
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Enjoying dermalogica with my ASG and Pico toner ** Disclosure: I was a participant without remuneration in promotional videos for Ageless Secret Gold and the Neurotris Pico Emmy event. |
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