Edible lipstick will be made from rare earths

Lipsticks you would love to taste will be produced by a company in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Zhongke Century Technology Co Ltd plans to start manufacturing cosmetic products made from nontoxic colorant from rare earth materials by the end of this year.

The research and development work for the product has been done at the Baotou Rare Earth R&D Center, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“This is the world’s first lipstick that is dyed by a coloring agent made from rare earths, which contain no toxic elements,” said Wang Ming at the center.

Colorants are produced from rare earths and sulfides under mild conditions, without using hydrogen sulfides and other toxic substances.