RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Internet rumors about lead in lipstick have existed—and been dismissed—for years, but recent research is finding that the rumors may in fact have some truth to them. In 2007, a group called the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) published a report for which they tested 33 brand-name lipsticks and found lead in 61 percent. Shortly afterward, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they'd look into the problem. Nearly three years later, the agency has quietly published a study in an industry trade journal in which they found lead in every sample of lipstick tested, in some cases nearly five times higher than what the CSC found in its 2007 report.
THE DETAILS: The FDA study was published in the July/August issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Science, a trade journal that isn't easily accessible to the general public. It was intended to highlight the effectiveness of a new lead-testing tool, not to reveal the quantities of lead in lipstick. For its study, the agency tested 22 lipsticks (the exact brand names and manufacturers have not been disclosed) and found lead in every sample. Levels ranged from 0.9 parts per million (ppm) to 3.06 ppm, with an average of 1.07 ppm; for comparison's sake, the FDA sets a maximum limit of 2 ppm in food, but it allows up to 20 ppm in cosmetic colorants, the only cosmetic ingredient the agency regulates. When the CSC tested lipsticks in 2007, it was using older technology and found levels ranging from 0.03 ppm to 0.65 ppm. "Because the FDA's new testing equipment is so sensitive, the agency has said that earlier methods may have underestimated the amount of lead in products," says Stacy Malkan, cofounder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition that works to eliminate hazardous chemicals from personal-care products, and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry (New Society Publishers, 2007).
WHAT IT MEANS: Will you suffer lead poisoning from a single lipstick application? It's highly unlikely, but the cumulative affect of using lead-contaminated lipstick every day for decades, as many women do, could lead to serious health problems. "These small amounts applied day after day add up," says Malkan. "Those exposures stay in our bodies. We really need to be avoiding all lead exposure." Her sentiments are echoed by a number of health professionals who insist that there is no such thing as "safe" lead levels. Recent research has also found that lead builds up in bones and then gets released as your bones break down when you age, and that could lead to high blood pressure and even dementia. Plus, it's likely that lead in lipstick is added to exposure from other sources; small amounts of lead can be detected in the air, our water, our food, and dozens of other products people handle on a daily basis. "The primary problem with lipstick is that it’s used frequently by the most vulnerable: pregnant women," Malkan adds, noting that the even the tiniest amounts of lead they could ingest could cause damage to a developing fetus. A new study published in the journal NeuroToxicology finds that even small amounts of lead can alter the amount of white matter (which can influence rates of disease) in a developing baby's brain.
Unfortunately, avoiding lead in lipstick could be difficult. Malkan says that neither the FDA nor her group is able to pinpoint the exact source of the lead. It could lurk in the colorants and tints of the lipsticks, but it could also appear as a contaminant of other ingredients, like petroleum-based waxes and oils or minerals like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide (used as a colorant and in some products as a sunblock).
Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself from lead in lipstick:
• Avoid the worst offenders. The FDA didn't disclose the brands of lipsticks tested in their report, but the CSC did in its 2007 test. L'Oreal lipsticks consistently rated highest when it came to lead, says Malkan, and she adds that Revlon and Wet 'n Wild products were on the low end of the spectrum.
• Consult the experts. The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database flags products that contain ingredients that could be contaminated with lead. Check EWG’s list to see if the lipsticks you like are likely to be leaden.
• Keep it away from kids. All moms know that most little kids can't resist chomping on a tube of lipstick given the opportunity, and little girls who like to play dress-up aren't the best at keeping lipstick out of their mouths. Give them kid-friendly glosses (EWG's database lists those, too), and keep tubes of lipstick out of kids' reach.
• Eat a healthy diet. People with poor nutrition absorb lead more easily. Calcium and iron deficiencies especially make the toxic metal more readily absorbed by your bones. And a high-fat diet makes it easier for your body to absorb and then store it.