Lead in Lipstick: How Concerned Should We Be?
For years there has been rumors about lead in lipstick and recently increased concern has prompted the FDA to do further testing. In 2007, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 33 lipsticks for lead with an independent lab and found that 61% of lipsticks tested positive for lead with: Loreal, Maybelline and Cover Girl testing the highest.
In 2009, the FDA did a follow up study and tested 20 lipsticks and found they had lead amounts ranging from .09-3.06 ppm (parts per a million) which is much higher than the .65 ppm maximum found in the 2007 testing.
Why is there lead in some lipsticks and not others? Some pigments apparently have lead in them which become part of the lipstick or the lead comes from contamination during the manufacturing process. There are brands of lipstick with little or no lead based on both studies so clearly it is possible to make low lead lipstick.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “no safe lead level has been identified” and pregnant women and children under 6 are most at risk. Lead is a known neurotoxin that can cause birth defects and has been linked to cancer. The levels of lead are cumulative and can build up over time with repeated exposure.
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