Red Alert Ladies: Lead In Lipsticks-Poison Kiss?

August 9, 2010]-----Most women wear lipstick as a form of expression. Its probably the most used cosmetic item in our beauty regimen. We dont think for a moment that we may be applying something deadly to our lips.

Well, according to www.safecosmetics.org, some lipsticks contain unsafe amounts of lead. On October 11 2007, Campaign For Safe Cosmetics released results from their product test conducted on several brands of red lipsticks brought from Boston, Hartford, Conn., San Francisco and Minneapolis.

The tests, which was done by an independent lab., showed alarming results. The article stated, More than half of 33 brand name lipsticks tested (61 percent) contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). Consumers were never warned of these findings by the beauty industry.

More than onethird of the tested lipsticks exceeded the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA), 0.1 ppm limit for lead in candy. This limit was set for candy because it is ingested. The FDA has not set any such limits on lipsticks, even though they are worn on the lips and may be ingested by women wearing them. (We lick our lips all the time, or drink, and eat).

The cosmetic industry rake in a staggering 50 billion dollars, annually. Beauty is big business and womenâs health are being put in jeopardy to maintain this huge profit. Why isnt the FDA regulating this market? Shouldnt womens health come before these corporations wealth?

As listed on safecosmetics.org, some of the top brands testing positive for lead were:

LOreal Color Riche True Red 0.65 ppm
LOreal Color Riche Classic Wine 0.58 ppm
Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor Maximum Red 0.56 ppm
Christian Dior Addict Positive Red 0.21 ppm

Not all the lipsticks tested contained lead which means that it is not a necessary ingredient. Ironically, some of the more expensive brands had lead, while the some of the cheaper ones, had none. 13 of the 33 lipstick brands tested, contained no lead.
Revlon lipstick, one of the cheaper brands, which sells for $7.49 each, had no traces of lead, while the more expensive Dior brand, which retails at $24.50 per tube, was one of the most contaminated samples, says safe cosmetics.org.

Lead consumption has been linked to a variety of health problems. It is a neurotoxin and is especially deadly to pregnant women and young children. Medical experts say internal exposure to lead can lead to learning disabilities in children, miscarriages, reduced fertility in both men and women and a host of other complaints.

So what can we do as women to protect ourselves? I remember participating in a cancer survey for Caribbean women, and being completely shocked by the amount of deadly chemicals that are put in hair and skin,products.

We need to fight for our health. We need to become proactive. Our lives and the lives of our children, depend on it.

Visit www.safecosmetics.org for more information.

By veronica P Roberts 8.9.10

About ten years ago my son became allergic to perfume, amongst other things and I began to read about chemicals....as it happens perfume contains substances that can cause infertility and many other conditions. In a way I am "glad"he became allergic...I threw out everything containing perfume and only use stuff that has had no animal testing done and no toxic chemicals ( also for cleaning and such). It is more expensive stuff, but it's worth it.