Read our lips: Your lipstick may contain lead
Still fresh in our minds is the recall of some toys which were found to contain lead paint. Lead is a toxin that can cause irreversible damage to the brain and the body. Fact is, lead is all around us — in paint, paint dust, solder, pipes, even household dust.
And now, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics coalition sent 33 lipsticks to a lab for testing and look what they found in nearly two-thirds of the products tested: lead!
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of public, women’s, health, labor, environmental health, and consumer-rights groups whose earthly mission is to protect the health of consumers and workers by exerting pressure on the health and beauty industry to eliminate the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, and other health problems, and replace them with safer alternatives — that is, in every market they serve.
Also known as the Compact for the Global Production of Safer Health and Beauty Products, the Safe Cosmetics Campaign began in 2002 with an explosive expose titled “Not Too Pretty: Phthalates, Beauty Products and The FDA.” For this report, environmental and public health groups asked a lab to test 72 name-brand beauty products for the presence of phthalates, a family of industrial chemicals linked to permanent birth defects in the male reproductive system. The result: The lab found phthalates in almost three-quarters of the products tested, even in products where the chemicals were not listed on the labels. So much for truth in product labels.
The beautiful news is that as of August 2007, a total of 600 companies have signed up with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, vowing to keep toxic ingredients out of their products. Among the signatories are brands some of us are familiar with or have grown to love. There’s Badger Balm, whose paraben-free, preservative-free, all-natural healing balms and healthy body-care products are a balm to the senses. In the
So, how safe are your cosmetics? The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics answers some oft-asked questions:
Is the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics saying that my lipstick or my deodorant can give me cancer?
No, we’re not. The chemicals present in any one cosmetic product are unlikely to cause harm. But none of us use just one product. Think about how many products you use in a single day — from toothpaste to soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, deodorant, body lotion, shaving products, and makeup — and how many products you use in a year, and over a lifetime. Small amounts of toxic chemicals add up and can accumulate in our bodies through cosmetic use and through other chemical exposures in food, water, and air. Chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects do not belong in personal care products, period.
Does lipstick really contain lead?
According to independent lab tests initiated by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, yes, some lipsticks available for sale in 2007 contain lead. The report, “A Poison Kiss,” names the brands tested and the levels of lead found in them. More than half of 33 top-brand lipsticks tested (61 percent) contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). One-third of the lipsticks exceeded the 0.1 ppm FDA lead limit for candy — a standard established to protect children from directly ingesting lead.
Is just a little bit of lead really harmful?
The most recent scientific studies indicate that there is no safe level of lead — no amount of exposure is without harm. Lead is a proven neurotoxin that can cause learning, language, and behavioral problems. Lead is also linked to infertility and miscarriage. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to exposure because lead easily crosses the placenta and enters the fetal brain, where it interferes with normal development. Lead does not break down in the body, but builds up over a lifetime of exposures.
Is there an FDA limit on lead in lipstick?
No, the US Food and Drug Administration does not have a limit on lead in lipstick. It’s yet one more example of the disturbing absence of FDA regulatory oversight of cosmetics.In 2006, the FDA established a lead limit of 0.1 parts per million (ppm) in candy, based on the level the agency believed to be the lowest achievable. The lowest level of lead that can be practicably obtained in lipstick is non-detectable, according to our test results. Lipstick, like candy, is ingested directly into the body. Yet the FDA has not set a lead limit for lipstick.The FDA has set a limit on lead in FD&C color additives — which are sometimes used to color lipstick — at 10 to 20 ppm. But there is no FDA limit on the amount of colorant that may be used in cosmetics. Lead may also be introduced from other sources, yet the FDA does not require testing of finished cosmetics for lead or any other hazardous substances.
How does lead get into lipstick?
Two possible ways: Colorants used in lipstick may contain lead, or lead may be introduced as a by-product from ingredients mined or obtained from other raw materials, which can include zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, or from materials such as ozokerite (mineral wax or paraffin) and petroleum-based ingredients (petrolatum, mineral oil). Either way, our product tests show that it’s possible to make lipstick with no detectable lead.
Is it possible to find lead-free lipstick?
Yes, and no. The good news is, our tests prove it is possible to make lipstick without lead, and cost doesn’t seem to be a factor: 39 percent of the products tested had no detectable levels of lead. Some less expensive brands such as Revlon had no detectable levels of lead, while some more expensive brands had relatively high lead levels. The bad news is that consumers without access to laboratory testing cannot determine which lipsticks contain lead and which do not — and you definitely won’t find lead listed among the ingredients.
What are some of the most harmful ingredients in beauty/body care products?
Mercury (often listed as thimerosal on ingredient labels) found in some eye drops, ointment, and deodorants; lead acetate, found in some hair dyes and cleanser; formaldehyde and toluene, found in nail products; petrochemicals, found in some hair relaxers, shampoos, mascara, perfume, foundation, lipstick and lip balm; coal tar, found in dandruff shampoos, anti-itch creams and hair dyes; placenta, found in some hair relaxers, moisturizers and toners; and phthalates, found in some nail polish, fragrances, and hair spray. All of these ingredients can be found in our brochure, “Unmasked: 10 Ugly Truths Behind the Myth of Cosmetic Safety.”
So should I buy products labeled “all natural”?
Looking for the words “natural” or “safe” won’t guarantee that the product you buy really is safe. That’s why we’re asking all manufacturers to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and pledge not to use chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, and other health harms, and replace them with safer alternatives.
There’s a lot written about parabens and companies going “paraben-free.” What does that mean?
Parabens are a group of compounds widely used as anti-microbial preservatives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products, including underarm deodorants. Parabens are absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract and blood.
What is the Compact for Safe Cosmetics?
Some companies are making safer products today and striving to make even safer products in the future. More than 600 companies have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to remove hazardous chemicals and replace them with safe alternatives within three years.
What should I buy, then?
We can’t say. Our product tests covered just a tiny percentage of lipsticks on the market, so they can’t be used as a guide on what to buy. We don’t want anyone to think the testing of these 33 products is the last word on which lipsticks contain lead. This is just a starting point. The tests reveal that lead is commonly found in lipstick, and that companies are making products with lead levels all over the board.The bottom line is that we can’t shop our way out of this problem. We need to change the laws so that consumers are protected from toxic ingredients in cosmetics.
So, how do I get involved?
Here’s what you can do: Join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Sign up for updates, write to companies, and join our action network. Together we can make over the cosmetics industry and make ourselves and our families safer. Choose safer products now. Visit our partner Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database, the world’s largest searchable database of ingredients in cosmetics. Find out if your favorite products contain hazardous chemicals, find safer alternatives, and search for Compact signers’ products in Skin Deep. You can also find a list of Compact signers on our web site.
Tell your cosmetics companies you want safe products. Contact the companies that have not signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Call them, write them, e-mail them to let them know you want safe products now.
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We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.
