Lips To Die For?

BEAUTY & HEALTH 

Your favorite tube of lipstick “may contain lead, according to a recently updated test of lipstick by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency found that 400 popular lipsticks contained trace amounts of the toxin.

The worst offenders on the list were Maybelline’s Color Sensation in Pink Petal, which had 7.19 parts per million of lead, and L’Oreal Colour Riche in Volcanic, which had 7 parts per million. Several other brands, including Cover Girl and Nars had products hovering in the 4-to-5-parts-per-million range...

That’s higher than what the FDA found in its first lipstick-lead test in 2007, which looked at 20 lipsticks and found lead in all — but none over 3.06 parts per million… While several of the products included in the recent analysis exceeded the lead levels measured in 2007, all but two still fell under the California threshold.

The FDA first began testing for lead in lipsticks in response to pressure from the consumer group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, whose own 2007 test of 33 lipsticks found lead in most of them. The group has long called on the FDA to set a lead limit for lipstick, but the agency has resisted, saying that the amount of the toxin found in lipstick poses no risk to consumers, especially since so little of the makeup is actually ingested by wearers.

‘We do not consider the lead levels we found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern. The lead levels we found are within the limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick,’ the FDA said on its website.

In a letter to the FDA last week, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics countered that ‘lead builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels’ — a particular concern for millions of women of childbearing age, the group said. Citing a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that no amount of lead is safe for children and that exposure in both children and pregnant women should be prevented, the group pushed the FDA again to set a maximum allowable limit for lead in cosmetics…” (Sifferlin, February, 15, 2012)

Still, lead exposure – even small amounts – over time can be detrimental to any woman’s health. So, next time when you are applying your make-up you may want to consider the lipstick brands you are using and how often you reapply it throughout the day.  I know it may be difficult for the beauty and make-up enthusiasts of the world, but your health is much more important.