A recent study conducted by the University of Chicago revealed that the average adult woman will consume about six tubes of lipstick in her sleep each year. The study was funded by grants from the Food and Drug Administration and Sephora after an alarming number of women reported waking up with marks on their teeth and a waxy residue in their mouths.
Most of these women could not distinctly remember shoving lipsticks into their mouths during the night, despite the fact that they unconsciously left their beds.
“I figured I would eat like one, maybe two lipsticks in my lifetime,” says study participant Marcia Klein. “But six whole tubes every year? I’d like to know the calorie count on those.”
“The findings certainly were surprising,” says lead researcher Dr. Jessica Figeroa. “But when we looked at the cravings and makeup touchups that women were suppressing during the day, it made sense that these repressed urges might materialize and merge at night.”
“You would expect to swallow something like spiders in your sleep because they crawl into your mouth to lay their eggs, which is something every spider does,” says MythBusters star Jamie Hyneman. “But tubes of lipstick don’t have legs, so is one myth we just couldn’t bust.”
“I didn’t believe it was real until they showed me the tapes,” says one study participant, who wishes to remain anonymous. “But sure enough, there I was, fully asleep, getting out of bed, pulling out a dinner plate, grabbing my favorite lip color, uncapping the tube, extending it to its full length, tucking a napkin into my collar, and eventually eating the lipstick with a knife and fork, like a steak.”
She adds, “You hear about these things and you think, ‘There’s no way.’ But I’m here to tell you: If I can eat six lipsticks in my sleep, anyone can eat six lipsticks in their sleep.”
Sephora plans to release its toxin-free, easy-open ZZZ lip color line in the fall.
