US-made red lipsticks have high lead content

16 October, 2007

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will investigate allegations by a consumer watchdog group that some
brands of US-made red lipsticks contain potentially high levels of poisonous lead that might be considerably dangerous for women.

According to a new report, released by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, some branded lipsticks used by millions of women in America are contaminated with lead.

The advocacy group based its report on lead tests conducted on branded lipsticks ranging from drugstore brands to designer labels.

The tests that included brands such as L’Oreal, Cover Girl, and Christian Dior were conducted in September 2007 by Bodycote Testing Group laboratory.

For testing the presence of lead in lipstick, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics randomly chose 33 red lipsticks in four cities in the United States, including Minneapolis, Boston, San Francisco, and Connecticut.

The tests revealed that 61% – or 22 – of the total brand names examined contained detectable levels of lead.

The highest levels of lead were detected in products from L’Oreal, Cover Girl, and Christian Dior. None of the companies listed lead as an ingredient, the study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said. The study marked the following top brands positive for lead:

L’Oreal Colour Riche ‘True Red’ – 0.65 parts per million.

 L’Oreal Colour Riche ‘Classic Wine’ – 0.58 parts per million.

Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor ‘Maximum Red’ – 0.56 parts per million.

Dior Addict ‘Positive Red’ – 0.21 parts per million.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said that one-third of the tested lipsticks exceeded the FDA’s 0.1 ppm (parts per million) limit for lead in candy. The
FDA had established this standard in order to protect children from directly ingesting lead.

However, lipstick often ingests into the body, but there are no standards set by the FDA for lead safety in cosmetics.

Stacy Malkan, of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said: “We want the companies to immediately reformulate their products to get the lead out and ultimately, really we need to change the laws and force these companies to be accountable to women's health.”

The FDA has agreed to investigate the advocacy groups’ claims even though it said the group’s previous claims “have not generally been supported” by its own analysis.

Meanwhile, L’Oreal said its products are free of harmful ingredients and that its products hit the market only after they are thoroughly reviewed and tested by the company’s toxicologists, clinicians, pharmacists, and physicians. The company said its cosmetics fully comply with federal regulations.

Lead is a poisonous metal that can damage the nerve connections, especially in young children. It also results in blood and brain disorders, and continuous exposure to lead has been linked with schizophrenia.

Lead poisoning levels are higher in children as compared to adults because babies and young children often put their hands and other objects in their mouths and these objects can have lead dust on them. They also absorb it more easily.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 million children under age 5 in the United States have high levels of lead in their blood.

In the US, lead poisoning is formally defined as having at least 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. (The average level of lead, for people aged 1 to 70, is 2.3 micrograms).

Exposure to high levels of lead can cause vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, coma, or death. Symptoms include anemia, appetite loss, abdominal pain,
constipation, fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability, and headaches. Lead is also capable of causing brain damage.