Do Repairable Cosmetics Really Work?

Perhaps, have you heard of cosmetic repair? Broken eye shadows and broken lipsticks are easily reborn in the hands of "cosmetic restorers" as if they have never been broken. Many big-name makeup products are fragile and expensive, and it is very distressing to break down. Based on this, it has become a new business to restore broken cosmetics using repair.

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Cosmetics such as lipstick, eye shadow, and setting powder are usually easy to break. Once accidentally damaged, it usually costs money to buy a new one. Recently, a business called "makeup restoration" has quietly emerged, where damaged makeup can be restored for a few dollars.

CHAILEEDO found through browsing that makeup repair covers a wide range of items. The most common method for damaged eyeshadow palettes, setting powders and other makeup products with powder cores, is to break them through a small wall breaker, take them out, and put them in for use. The manual pressure plate in the original box is soaked in alcohol; broken lipstick can be restored to its original shape by melting and re-injection.

Furthermore, some makeup restoration bloggers also offer "customization" services. A blogger once posted a video showing that the fluorescent pink sent by the customer was changed to positive red by adding lipstick powder and vegetable mixed oil. Makeup products can also be reorganized, for example, eye shadows and powder blush of different shades can be reorganized into one plate to make the shades richer. In addition, different types of makeup can also be assembled, customers can take base makeup, eye shadow, highlighter, etc. in one tray at the same time, and it is more convenient to carry when going out.

It is reported that cosmetics repair videos first appeared at the end of 2019, and the number and traffic collectively exploded in the first half of 2022. On China's recommended social platform Xiaohongshu, there are more than 50,000 related notes; on the Chinese short video platform Tik Tok China, the video compilation "Immersive Makeup Repair and Transformation" has a total of 82.85 million views.

Flow drives business, and on Taobao, China's mainstream e-commerce platform, there are many shops engaged in "makeup restoration". Some stores have a monthly turnover of more than 700 orders. Repair items include eye shadow repair, powder repair, lipstick repair, etc.

It is understood that the price of repairing a piece of makeup is generally between 3 US dollars and 7 US dollars. Customers send the makeup that needs to be repaired to the merchant by express, and the merchant will send it back after repair. It will be fixed in a day.

Expensive makeup is mostly made of chemicals that come into contact with the skin. So, is it reliable to cost a few dollars to fix makeup? Is it safe?

Judging from many repair videos posted on public platforms, most of the repair environments are "family" small workshops, not professional studios. Some repairers only wear finger cots, and sterilization and disinfection only rely on alcohol and ultraviolet radiation. The operating environment is worrying, and there is a big gap between it and the high-standard workshop of cosmetics production.

In addition, beauty repair tools such as grinders and powder pressing tools can be purchased directly on e-commerce platforms, but the prices of different tools are slightly different, which further proves that the phenomenon of makeup repair is quite common, and the operating threshold is low.

Experts said that the makeup has been reprocessed, and the repaired product is different from the original product. Generally speaking, for the repaired cosmetics, the manufacturer can not bear the warranty, and consumers need to be cautious when choosing such services.