Lipstick Packaging Product Overview

Introduction to lipstick products

What is lipstick? Lipstick, also known as lip balm, refers to a product that is applied to the lips to give them a bright color and moisturize them. Lipstick is usually made by dissolving and dispersing pigments from oils, fats and waxes. Therefore, the matrix components of lipstick mainly include: colorants, fats and waxes, and flavors and preservatives are usually added. Lipstick beauty cosmetics can protect the lips from chapped lips by outlining the lip shape, moisturizing and softening the lips, giving the lips a hue, and emphasizing or changing the contour of the lips.

The following is a classification of lipsticks from different classification forms:

(1) According to the color of lipsticks, lipsticks are roughly divided into three types: original color lipsticks, color-changing lipsticks and colorless lipsticks (also known as lip balms).

(2) According to the formula of lipsticks, lipsticks can be divided into moisturizing type, waterproof type, non-stick cup type, sunscreen type, powder lipstick, long-lasting lipstick and glossy lipstick. Generally, the formula of lipstick is mainly oil-based or wax-based. As people’s demand for the moisture of lip products increases, emulsified lipsticks made of oily raw materials, colorants, water, moisturizers and emulsifiers through emulsification have been developed on the market.

(3) According to the shape of lipstick (mainly refers to the diameter of the lipstick flesh), lipstick can be divided into: pen-shaped lipstick, lipstick pen, general lipstick, thin tube lipstick, MINI lipstick. As shown in Table 1:

In order to match the product characteristics of different lipsticks, lipstick tubes can be divided into the following categories: a small lipstick, due to its own characteristics, it requires variable requirements and directly acts on the oral organ of the human body – the lips. During use, it requires relatively high precision and stability to achieve a delicate and perfect makeup effect. Therefore, in the cosmetic packaging industry, there is a general understanding that lipstick tubes are the most complex and difficult of all cosmetic packaging materials.

(1) From the structure of the main mechanism, it can be divided into two types (mainly refers to the functional structure of the middle bundle core): bead fork screw structure and rotating rod structure.

The structure of the bead fork screw is shown in Figure 1 above. It is generally a double helix structure with a longer pitch. After one rotation, the bead travels a longer distance, so it is also called a fast screw. The bead (cup) is the cup part that directly contacts the lipstick pulp. The fork (fork) is the track of the bead in the straight direction. The spiral (Spiral) is the track of the bead in the spiral ascending direction, which cooperates with the fork to achieve the purpose of the rotation process and the bead ascending.

(2) According to the size, physical and chemical properties and filling method of the matching lipstick pulp, the following is the classification of common lipstick tubes by beads:

The inner diameter of the bead mainly includes 8.5mm, 8.6mm, 9mm, 9.8mm, 10mm, 11mm, 11.8mm, 12mm, etc.; the number of bead ribs mainly includes 4 ribs, 6 ribs and 8 ribs; the bead shape includes positive filling and reverse filling.

(3) According to the characteristics and functional requirements of the lipstick paste, it is divided into: multi-head lipstick, airtight lipstick, etc.

Multi-head lipstick packaging is generally a product with a beaded screw structure, which cleverly uses the structure of the main part of the lipstick extending into a double bottom interconnected structure.

Airtight lipstick is generally designed to meet the needs of long-lasting lipstick products. The formula contains highly volatile oils and is mixed with rich pigments. When the oil evaporates, the pigment remains on the lips. In order to meet the purpose of normal use by consumers within the shelf life, this type of lipstick tube is generally designed with an embedded airtight ring in the cap and the middle bundle to lock the contents and prevent volatilization.

Lipstick technology and quality control

In terms of product surface decoration, electroplating, hot stamping, printing, water transfer and other surface processes are commonly used to achieve a specific texture or high-end luxury effect. For example, the Star Series launched by YSL makes good use of gold powder and spray UV technology to achieve a dazzling starry sky effect. Another example is the lambskin lipstick of Givenchy, another evergreen brand of lipstick tubes. It boldly uses special material lambskin, conveying the spirit of Givenchy brand’s high-end luxury and pursuit of first-class quality. It must be said that this is a bold and successful breakthrough in the cross-border process of the cosmetic packaging industry.

In addition to the conventional use of plastics, the main part of high-end products can also be made of aluminum components, and aluminum products are mostly made of oxidation electroplating technology. The advantage of aluminum component products is that they have a luxurious and textured appearance, but due to the process limitations of aluminum stretching and cutting, special attention should be paid to the potential safety risks that sharp blades may pose to consumers! You can use sharp blade test equipment that meets the requirements of US Federal Regulations 16 CFR1500.49, and use pressure-sensitive insulation and high-temperature resistant tape that meets the MIL-I-23594B (1971) standard to test and evaluate the risk of the product.

The structural components of lipstick tubes are complex, and the product details are required in many ways. In addition, most of the filling is done automatically by machines, and the filling processes are different, such as front filling, back filling, direct filling, loading of lipstick tubes, etc. In addition, such as the combination of different parts, poor tolerance control, or unreasonable design, even if the lubricant is applied incorrectly, it will cause downtime or functional abnormality, and these errors are often fatal. Therefore, lipstick tube packaging materials need to be rigorously reviewed and carefully controlled in every link of the development, production, quality control and transportation process.

Common quality problems of lipstick packaging materials include: insufficient bead blocking force, too tight torque, too large or too small opening force, insufficient adhesion, pollution, etc., and the reasons for such problems may be due to deviations in production process management or machines or fixtures, molds/adjustments are not in place, standards are unclear, employee operating errors, etc. For example, the size control is out of tolerance during the molding process, the electroplating fixture is too tight to cause product deformation, and the quality inspector’s measurement error releases wrong information, etc. are all common reasons for defective products in the production process.