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Lead in Your Lipstick?

by Christina Jones on October 12th, 2007

A slightly scary sounding report released yesterday by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics shows the results of lab tests for lead performed on many popular lipsticks. The FDA does not currently regulate the cosmetics industry, so the CSC is your watchdog. I’ll give you the test results after the jump, but what is really important for you to know is that it is the red lipsticks that really are the problem here. However, you also need to know that there is a good bit of debate already about what this lead is going to do to you, so do your research before you jump to any conclusions. As is the norm, if you are a healthy person, there is probably not much to worry about. However you definitely want to be concerned if you are elderly or if you have small children in your home.

This is an interesting snippit of what The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has to say about lead in your lipstick:

Q: How does lead get into lipstick?

A: 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.

Q: Is it possible to find lead-free lipstick?

A: 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% of the products tested had no detectable levels of lead. Some less expensive brands such as Revlon ($7.49) had no detectable levels of lead, while some more expensive brands like Dior Addict ($24.50) 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.

Again, it is the RED lipsticks here that seem to be the issue, leading me to believe it is the colorant that is the real problem. You can read the rest of their Q&A formatted conclusions here, and you can download the full report (PDF) from SafeCosmetics.org here. For the full list of products out of the 33 they tested that did show lead, click here.

Lipsticks with less than 0.02 parts per million (ppm) lead

* I wouldn’t be terribly concerned about these

Avon Ultra Color Rich Cherry Jubilee

Body Shop Lip Colour Garnet

Clinique Long Last Lipstick Merlot

Dior Replenishing Lipcolor Red Premiere

Estee Lauder Maraschino

MAC Matte Lipstick Viva Glam 1

Revlon Superlustrous Love That Red

Revlon Superlustrous Bed of Roses

Revlon Colorstay Lipcolor Red Velvet

Tarte Inside Out Vitamin Lipstick

Wet N Wild Mega Colors Cherry Blossom

Lipsticks with detectable levels of lead but less than 0.1 ppm lead (the FDA-recommended limit for candy)

* Don’t be panicked about these either

MAC Matte Lipstick Viva Glam

Revlon Love That Red

Cover Girl Queen Collection Ruby Remix

Clinique Long Last Paprika

Dior Replenishing Lipcolor Red Premiere

Body Shop Garnet

Wet N Wild Cherry Frost

Clinique Angel Red

Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer Merlot

Lipsticks with lead levels higher than 0.1 ppm

*Get rid of these, especially if you have little ones running around

Maybelline NY Moisture Extreme Scarlet Simmer

Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor Maximum Red

Peacekeeper Paint Me Compassionate

Maybelline NY Moisture Extreme Midnight Red

Maybelline NY Moisture Extreme Cocoa Plum

Dior Addict Positive Red

Cover Girl Continuous Color Cherry Brandy

L’Oreal Colour Riche True Red

Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor Maximum Red

L’Oreal Colour Riche Classic Wine

L’Oreal Colour Riche True Red

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