Colour 45410:1

Thanks to archaeological excavations, we know that using colour to change our own appearance probably started thousand years ago, during the Paleolithic. Proof of body painting with iron and manganese oxides, ochre and coal has been found, each colour symbolising something, depending on each culture.

Since then and for centuries, pigments were used in cosmetics and hair dyes, made out of minerals, plants or animals. Some colours were extremely rare, fading really fast or nonexistent as a pigment, this is why synthetic colours developed really fast since the 18th century, in order to obtain the full spectrum.

Today, synthetic colours are regulated and approved for safe use by different governing bodies around the world. After having checked their safety, a few of these are used by Lush to supplement natural pigments and achieve a full cruelty-free pallet of colour.