Leaded Lipstick

The latest report that many common lipsticks brands contain detectable levels of lead is enough to put a pout on any woman’s face and leave her wondering the true cost of beauty.

In a recent issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Science, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists reported that all of the 20 lipsticks it tested contained lead, a proven neurotoxin that occurs naturally in the environment, at levels ranging from 0.09 parts per million (ppm) to 3.06 ppm. These results build on two previous studies, one from Health Canada and another from the U.S.-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of not-for-profit organizations working to improve the safety of personal care products.

“There are many others sources of lead exposure, which is why we don’t need to also need to be exposed to lead through products we smear on our lips,” says Stacy Malkan, co-founded of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry (New Society).

But are the levels of lead in lipstick truly cause for concern? It depends on who you ask.

A poison kiss

In 2007, it was the CSC that uncapped the issue with "A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipstick (pdf)." The organization found that 61 percent of the red lipsticks it tested contained lead, in levels up to 0.65 parts per million, spurring California lawmakers to attempt to ban the substance in lipstick. Brands included drugstore brands such as L'Oréal and Cover Girl as well as pricier brands such as Dior Addict.

In 2008, Health Canada tested 26 samples at its product safety laboratories and found that 21 contained lead (levels ranged from 0.079 to 0.84 ppm).

Using a new analysis technique, the new FDA study found levels of lead in lipstick that were higher than what the CSC has reported but it didn't publish the names of the brands it tested. “That just shows a great lack of transparency and accountability on the behalf of the FDA,” says Malkan.

However, Lorraine Shaw, an industrial hygienist and manager of the Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratory on the campus of McMaster University, says, “What the FDA is doing is—it’s not a conspiracy or anything—they’re validating a very sensitive method [to test for lead] that is fairly new. There are other methods but this is a good method.”

Both Health Canada and the FDA declared the levels of lead they detected safe.

Heavy metal conundrum

All of this begs the question, how much lead is too much?

The science on lead and its effects on the human body is mature and unequivocal: it can damage the nervous system, kidneys and the blood manufacturing system; it builds up and persists in the body over long periods of time, and, it is particularly harmful to children. It most frequently enters the body through the mouth, but an unborn baby can also be exposed to lead in the womb. According to Health Canada “The latest medical and scientific research shows that absorption of even very low levels of lead into the blood may have harmful health effects on the intellectual and behavioural development of infants and young children.”

But as with many environmental toxins, the effects of lead depend on dose—which is why regulators have establish safe levels for many substances that are known to be toxic at higher concentrations.

In the case of lead, Health Canada has issued draft guildelines that set the Maximum Acceptable Concentration of lead at 10 ppm (or 10 milligrams per litre) for water in drinking water and 10 ppm in products that are applied to the skin. Malkan calls Health Canada’s number “ridiculously high,” given the evidence that companies can achieve much lower levels than that.

The FDA hasn’t established a level, while the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (not a regulatory body) has declared in information for consumers on lead that “no safe blood lead level has been identified.”

“As an occupational hygienist, I think for most things there is a safe exposure,” says Shaw, whose laboratory regularly tests for lead for industry, organizations and consumers who are concerned about heavy metals in the environment and consumer products. However, she does acknowledge that safety levels are commonly adjusted as new research is published and  scientific knowledge increases. “I’ve seen the [safe exposure] levels fall over my working lifetime.”

In fact more and more, health advocates such as Malkan who are concerned about chronic exposure to chemicals in the environment and potential synergistic effects of these chemicals, are denouncing the old idea that the “dose makes the poison.” They’re opting instead to err on the side of caution and calling on regulators and manufacturers to do the same.

Unleaded lipsticks

Lead is not an ingredient in lipstick but rather a contaminant, meaning it sneaks into lipsticks in pigments (especially red pigments) and other raw materials. This makes it difficult—but not impossible—for manufacturers to eliminate and consumers to avoid. “[Companies] can source cleaner materials, not use raw materials that are likely to be contaminated or make sure that the pigments they’re buying don’t contain any lead,” says Malkan. “At this point, they don’t even have to know how much lead is in their products. And lipstick is probably not the only cosmetic product that contains lead. Canada found lots of heavy metals in kids face paint last year.”

If you’ve decided to play it safe when it comes to lead, here are some tips on choosing an unleaded lipstick:

•    Avoid certain brands: The CSC identified several brands as the worst offenders (brands that consistently produced lipsticks with higher levels of lead) when it conducted its study in 2007: L’Oréal, Cover Girl and Maybelline. On the other hand, Revlon’s lipsticks had low to no lead.

•    Choose lead-free lipsticks: Although natural lipsticks are the better environmental choice for many reasons, a natural lipstick isn’t necessarily lead-free. There are a few brands, however, that promise to be. Eco Bella has tested its FlowerColor Lipsticks for lead, as well as cadmium and mercury, and posted the results online. The company uses carmine, a magenta-coloured dye extracted from dead beetles, to tint its red and pink lipsticks rather than minerals. Lavera also makes lead-free lipsticks, as do both Cargo (PlantLove 100% Natural Lipstick) and Aveda.

•    Avoid lipstick altogether: Opt for colourless balms and glosses to keep your skin health and your smile bright—without adding colour.

•    Be suspicious of all cosmetics if you’re pregnant: Malkan reducing or eliminating where you can, especially products such as lipsticks that can be ingested and products such as perfume that are breathed in and may contain phthalates.