Keeping Up With the Kardashians: EOS Lip Balm Edition

Fueled by attractive containers and endorsements by high-profile celebs like Kim Kardashian and Britney Spears, EOS (Evolution of Smooth) lip balm has created a fad out of keeping one’s lips chap-free. Need proof? Walk through the halls of an elementary, middle, or high school or the grounds of a college campus, and you will undoubtedly see EOS lip balm in the hands of many. Unfortunately, all is allegedly not well with EOS lip balm, however. According to a new class action lawsuit, when you walk through those same school halls, you will also see rashes and blistered lips. Not exactly EOS’ target result.

As reported by Time, Plaintiff Rachel Cronin has filed a class action suit in California against EOS, alleging that the lip balm causes lips to crack, bleed, and blister. Cronin alleges that her lips felt like “sandpaper” hours after using EOS lip balm. She then re-applied the product to “smooth” her skin, but it caused her lips to crack, flake, and bleed. The next day, she allegedly had blisters and rashes around her mouth. Those symptoms allegedly lasted for 10 days. The EOS packaging claims to be 95 percent organic and able to keep lips “moist, soft, and sensationally smooth.”

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Dr. Marie Jhin, a San Francisco dermatologist, opined that the reactions to EOS lip balm are allergic contact dermatitis, possibly in response to Vitamin E contained in the product. Dr. Lauren Ploch, a New Orleans dermatologist, stated that while she did not know what is causing the symptoms for EOS users, many or her patients are allergic to natural oils such as beeswax, a component of EOS lip balm.

This will be an interesting suit to watch as it unfolds. If this is really an issue about Vitamin E or beeswax, EOS is certainly not the only lip balm manufacturer to utilize those ingredients. It is just the only one to have megastar endorsements.