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Lead in Your Lipstick Means Lead in Your Body
Feb
23
2012
If you are familiar with Just Beautiful cabinet member Gillian Deacon, you have probably already heard that There’s Lead in Your Lipstick. A new study from the U.S. FDA indicates that the problem might be getting worse, not better.
photo credit: Photo by flickr user gre.ceres
If you are familiar with Just Beautiful cabinet member Gillian Deacon, you have probably already heard that There’s Lead in Your Lipstick. A new study from the U.S. FDA indicates that the problem might be getting worse, not better.
In 2007, the FDA tested popular lipstick brands for lead and found that, although the metal was found in many of the lipsticks, all samples contained an amount of lead that was below California’s limit of 5 parts per million (ppm). (California has the strictest limit of any U.S. jurisdiction; Canada’s limit for lead in lipstick is 10 parts per million.) In 2011 the FDA conducted another round of tests on 400 lipsticks, and found that many contained levels of lead exceeding the California standard.
Lead is a highly toxic heavy metal that occurs in nature, and enters cosmetics as a contaminant in raw materials, or through the use of pigments that contain lead.
Babies and children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies absorb more lead than adult bodies do; if a pregnant woman ingests lead, the substance can cross the placenta. In children, lead ingestion can lead to lower I.Q. and other neurological effects. Chronic low-level lead exposure can affect the kidneys, blood, immune system and cardiovascular system. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified lead and inorganic lead compounds as "possibly" and "probably" carcinogenic to humans, respectively.
The average woman eats four pounds of lipstick in her lifetime, and many of the toxic chemicals in cosmetics, including lead, enter our bodies through ingestion or through the skin. Often what goes on your lips, or on your skin, goes in your body.
For our report Heavy Metal Hazard (2011), Environmental Defence conducted testing on 49 makeup products from women’s purses, including lipstick, eyeshadow, blush and foundation. Heavy metals such as lead, beryllium, arsenic, nickel, thallium and selenium were found in all of the products we tested.
Lead is a common contaminant in makeup, but some lipsticks have more lead than others, and price is not an indicator of how safe a product is. Read the FDA study results, which list the lipsticks they tested and the amount of lead found in each one.
Unlike lead, which is an impurity, we also recommend that you avoid the Toxic Ten, the worst ingredients you can find listed on cosmetic labels. The list includes parabens and phthalates, hormone disrupting chemicals and suspected carcinogens. For a full list, download our Toxic Ten pocket shopping guide.
Protect yourself by learning more about the toxins in cosmetics and protect your friends and family by joining the call for stricter controls on what ingredients are allowed in cosmetics in Canada. Sign and share our petition, and tell your loved ones to avoid the Toxic Ten.
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May
10
2012
Cosmetic companies just
JB says:
Cosmetic companies just baffle me. They just don't care for the wellbeing of their consumers by putting these toxic, carcinogenic ingredients in their products.
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