Lead in Lipstick

Do You Have to Worry About Lead in Lipstick

The "lead in lipstick" controversy has resurfaced - this time led by a group called the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC). The CSC submitted 33 lipsticks to an independent lab for lead testing.

Of course, none of the lipsticks list lead as an ingredient; rather it is allegedly an adulterant in certain dyes.

The CSC needed some benchmark for comparison. They chose the FDA limit for candy, which is 0.1 parts per million. Since lipstick is neither a food nor a drug, the FDA does not set a limit on the amount of lead that can find its way into a tube of lipstick.

That's an extremely conservative limit of 1 atom per 10 million because young brains are most susceptible to lead damage and kids are typically big consumers of candy. (Pregnant women should beware as well, since ingested lead can migrate across the placenta.)

One can argue that the CSC candy benchmark is inappropriate. We don't eat our lipstick. We use only a small amount each day. Lipstick users are not young children whose brains are most susceptible. Etc., etc. But if it's a benchmark rather than a limit, what's the difference?

Using 0.1 ppm simply as a benchmark, the CSC reported that one-third of the lipsticks tested exceeded this amount.

In my opinion, I would look into the motive and background of the "public interest groups" that issue this type of warning. They may very well have the well-being of the public at heart, but there may be other motives involved as well. Instead of accepting this kind of pronouncement as gospel, it pays to do a little independent research.

P.S: As I was "going to press" with this article, I received a special report from Paula Begoun, the so-called Cosmetics Cop, on Lead in Lipstick.

Read what Paula has to say if you still have any concerns about your lipstick.

As Paula points out CSC did not identify any health concerns arising out of the use of lipstick and none has apparently been reported in medical literature.

This article is for information only and does not purport to offer medical or scientific advice.