The EOS Lip Balm Lawsuit: Here's What You Need to Know

Say it isn't so! EOS, maker of the lip balm beloved by many, including celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Miley Cyrus, is facing a class-action lawsuit brought forward by a woman who says the product caused her serious skinreactions. Even if you're not EOS-addicted like some of us—see our roundup of Glamour editors' favorite lip balms—we know you're familiar with the distinctive ball-shaped balm, which comes in a variety of eye-catching candy colors and populates the cash register area of every chain store, drug store, and supermarket in the Western hemisphere.

Well the plaintiff, Rachael Cronin, claims that after buying an EOS at Target on December 4, she ended up with severely cracked, bleeding, blistering, and flaking lips. She sought medical care for the reaction, which lasted 10 days. Painful photos she posted of her lips on Facebook "set off a frenzy of responses from other individuals who shared the identical experience with EOS. It became clear this was a massive national health problem," the suit states. Jezebel reports that some customers also expressed issues with mold growing in their balms.

The suit elaborates: "A substantial number of consumers, upon information and belief in the tens of thousands, and potentially in excess of hundreds of thousands, who have purchased and used the product—spanning all gender, ages, and race, have experienced devastating adverse reactions to the product, consisting of mild to severe rashes, dryness, bleeding, blistering, cracking, and loss of pigmentation, lasting from a few days, to a few months, and some consumers with long lasting and perhaps permanent symptoms." The suit also alleges that the company is well aware of these issues. "EOS is, and has been, on notice of the serious adverse side-effects caused by the use of its product. Consumer complaints have flooded the EOS Facebook page and their email. Consumers, including the Plaintiff in this action have written to EOS to share their complaints and adverse health problems arising from the use of the production."

Meanwhile, EOS maintains there's nothing to see here. "We firmly believe this lawsuit is without merit," reads a statement we received after reaching out to the company for comment. "Our products are made with the highest quality ingredients and meet or exceed all safety and quality standards set out by our industry and validated by rigorous testing conducted by an independent lab. The health and well-being of our customers is our top priority and millions of satisfied customers use our products every day, many of whom take the time to share their experiences with us."

Amazon reviews (our source of "truths") posted over the past several years do mention burning rashes, dryness, peeling, and other contact dermatitis-type reactions. Overall, the product has maintained 4.5 to 5-star ratings. This comes on the heels of another high-profile beauty lawsuit everyone was talking about last month, against the hair care brand WEN by Chaz Dean. We'll be watching this one closely as the story develops. In the meantime, will those of you who love EOS continue using it? Have any of you experienced issues like those mentioned in the suit?