Carmine
The crimson in your lipstick is made from insects — usually harmless on skin, but a rare cause of true allergic reactions
INCICarmine
- Category
- Dye / Colorant
- Risk level
- medium
- What it actually is
- A red pigment (carminic acid) extracted from the dried bodies of female cochineal insects — so it is not vegan
- Two kinds of reaction
- Ordinary contact dermatitis (delayed) from cosmetics, and — much more rarely — immediate IgE reactions driven by residual insect protein
- Rare but real
- Documented anaphylaxis exists, mostly from dietary or occupational exposure and in people sensitised to insect/invertebrate proteins
- On the label
- Listed as "Carmine" or "CI 75470" in cosmetics; "carmine"/"cochineal extract"/"E120" in food
Look for these names on ingredient lists
This ingredient may appear under any of these names:
Commonly found in
Possible reactions
- Lip dermatitis (cheilitis) from red/pink lipstick
- Allergic contact dermatitis on the face
- Hives (urticaria) from carmine in cosmetics or food
- Anaphylaxis — rare, mainly via food/occupational exposure
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What is carmine?
Carmine (INCI: Carmine; CI 75470; food code E120; also cochineal, Natural Red 4, Crimson Lake) is a natural red pigment extracted from the dried bodies of female cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus), which live on prickly-pear cacti. The pigment — carminic acid — makes up a large share of the insect's dry weight and yields vivid, remarkably stable reds.
That stability and richness is why, after 500 years of use, carmine is still everywhere: it's a mainstay red/pink colourant in lipstick, blush and eyeshadow, and a common food colour in yogurt, sweets and drinks. For most people it's perfectly well tolerated on skin — the point of this page isn't to alarm, but to explain the two genuinely distinct ways it can cause trouble for the minority who react.
Why it causes reactions
Carmine isn't a single pure molecule — alongside carminic acid it carries residual insect proteins, and those proteins are the key to its allergy behaviour. Two separate mechanisms exist:
- Allergic contact dermatitis (the usual cosmetic reaction). A delayed (Type IV) reaction at the application site — classically cheilitis, sore and scaly lips, from red or pink lipstick.
- IgE-mediated hypersensitivity (rarer, more serious). The leftover insect protein can drive immediate reactions — hives, angioedema, occasionally anaphylaxis. This is reported mostly via dietary or occupational exposure, and the risk is higher in people already sensitised to insect or invertebrate proteins. More highly purified carmine carries less protein and, plausibly, less of this risk.
Two things are true at once: carmine is well tolerated by the vast majority, and it's one of the few colourants with a documented (if rare) anaphylaxis link. If your only experience is mild lip soreness, you're in the common, low-stakes group — the severe reactions cluster around eating carmine and around pre-existing insect-protein allergy, not everyday lipstick.
Where it's found
Cosmetics (the main route for skin reactions)
- Lipstick — red, pink, coral, berry shades; the classic source.
- Blush and bronzer, and red/burgundy/plum eyeshadow.
- Lip gloss and stains.
Food (the main route for IgE reactions)
- Pink/strawberry dairy, red and pink sweets, some juices and sports drinks, maraschino cherries, certain jams.
How to spot it on labels
- Cosmetics: Carmine or CI 75470 in the colourant section of the INCI list.
- Food: Carmine, Cochineal Extract, or E120.
On a lipstick, scan the tail of the ingredient list where the CI numbers cluster.
Safer alternatives
- Synthetic reds — CI 16035 (Red 40), CI 15850 (Red 7) — no insect protein (though azo dyes carry their own, separate allergy profile).
- Red iron oxide (CI 77491) — a mineral pigment, well tolerated and animal-free.
- Carmine-free / vegan lipstick ranges — increasingly common; check for the absence of "Carmine / CI 75470".
The bottom line
Carmine is the insect-derived crimson behind most red lipsticks — usually harmless on skin, occasionally a cause of contact cheilitis, and rarely (mostly via food and in insect-allergic people) a trigger for serious immediate reactions. If red and pink shades reliably upset your lips, suspect the colour and patch test; if you're avoiding it on ethical grounds, synthetic reds and iron oxides do the same job.
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