Red Lipstick Found to Contain Lead

According to consumer affairs, levels of lead were recently found in major brands of red lipsticks. Testing was done at an independent laboratory for the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of public health, educational, religious, labor, womens, environmental and consumer groups with a goal to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the health and beauty industry to phase out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems and replace them with safer alternatives. Top brands L'Oreal, Cover Girl and Christian Dior tested positive for lead.

This is shocking news because so many women use lipstick daily. What is more shocking is that the FDA has not set a limit for lead in lipstick. It is applied and reapplied several times a day by most women, which can lead to a build up of toxic levels. More than half of 33 brand-name lipsticks tested, 61% contained detectable levels of lead. Levels ranged from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). Not one of these lipsticks listed lead as an ingredient. 1/3 of the tested lipsticks exceeded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 0.1 ppm limit for lead in candy - a standard established to protect children from directly ingesting lead. Lipstick products, like candy, are directly ingested into the body.

Some less expensive brands such as Revlon ($7.49) had no detectable levels of lead, while the more expensive Dior Addict brand ($24.50) had higher levels than some other brands. Cost has nothing to do with the amount of lead a lipstick contains. Among the top brands testing positive for lead were:

L'Oreal Colour Riche "True Red" - 0.65 ppm
L'Oreal Colour Riche "Classic Wine" - 0.58 ppm
Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor "Maximum Red" - 0.56 ppm
Dior Addict "Positive Red" - 0.21 ppm

Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language and behavioral problems such as lowered IQ, reduced school performance and increased aggression. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure. Lead easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain where it can interfere with normal development. Lead has also been linked to infertility and miscarriage.

Beginning to wear makeup used to be a rite of passage. Without the FDA setting limits on lead in lipsticks that is a dangerous thing to expose our children to.

Resources:
www.consumeraffairs.com
www.safecosmetics.org
.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_Safe_Cosmetics