Many of my patients won’t go out of the house without lipstick. It makes them feel polished, confident, and beautiful.
I get that. But here’s my concern. Women are paying a hefty price for that look. And I don’t mean the $35 some are handing over for a tube of Chanel. I mean they could be paying a price with their health. Popular brand name lipsticks contain heavy metals like cadmium, aluminum, and even lead.
Why would anyone put lead in lipstick? After all, lead is toxic. It can cause headaches, muscle aches, and skin problems. High levels cause anxiety and depression, miscarriages, seizures, and even cancer. In children lead can cause permanent brain damage.
Why does the government let the $50 billion cosmetics industry get away with this?
Gaping loopholes in federal law allow Big Beauty to add pretty much whatever they want to your lipstick. There’s no testing and no monitoring of health effects. And the labeling requirements are grossly inadequate.
Evidence is mounting about just how widespread lead contamination is in lipstick. Here’s what you need to know.
FDA Finds Lead In 400 Lipsticks
In 2011 the Food and Drug Administration conducted a study of 400 lipsticks. Every one of them contained lead. Two popular brands contained higher levels than the safe limit set by California for toxins in personal care products. Among the biggest offenders were Maybelline, L’Oreal, Cover Girl, Revlon, and Avon.1
The FDA shrugged off their own results. They said the levels weren’t high enough to worry about. But the Centers for Disease Control recently acknowledged that NO level of lead is really safe.
Researchers at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health weren’t satisfied with the FDA’s answer. They took 32 lip products from teenage girls and tested them for metal content. 75% of the samples contained lead. They also found cadmium, chromium, aluminum, and five other heavy metals.2
Now let me put this in perspective. I don’t want you to panic.
But I worry about the long term effects of licking toxic metals from your lips every day. By some estimates women eat four pounds of lipstick over a lifetime. These toxins are also absorbed through your skin. Lead builds up in your body and gets stored in your blood, tissues, bones and teeth. It can take 10 years or more to get it out of your system.
Ingredients like lead and heavy metals don’t belong in beauty products AT ALL. Here’s how to protect yourself.
How To Find Safe, Natural Lipstick
I’d like to say check your lipstick’s ingredient label for heavy metals. But that won’t help.
That’s because lead is not an ingredient. It’s a contaminant. It gets into lipstick through pigment. Some studies show that brown tones and other intense colors have higher levels. But even pink shades can have some lead.
And you can’t always trust one brand. The FDA’s review listed some brands in the top 20 for the highest lead levels for one shade of lipstick. But the same brand could be in the safest 20 for another shade. Your best option is to click here to check your favorite lipstick brand and shade against the FDA’s list.
Even better, switch to all-natural, organic, chemical-free lipstick.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics publishes a list of its favorite products. More than 1,500 companies have signed the CSC’s Compact for Safe Cosmetics. That’s a voluntary pledge to avoid chemicals and other harmful ingredients whenever possible, and fully disclose product ingredients. Here’s the link to the CSC’s approved products.
And to be really sure about what’s in your lipstick, you can make your own. A simple base for lipstick is just beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil. You can add pigment from herbs (turmeric), fruit (berries) or vegetables (cocoa or beets). If you like DIY projects, give it a try.
Did you check your lipstick against the lists? What did you find?
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Product Information, “Lipstick and Lead: Questions and Answers” fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductInformation/ucm137224.htm#expanalyses
2. Sa Liu et al, Concentrations and Potential Health Risks of Metals in Lip Products. 2013 Environ Health Perspect; DOI:10.1289/ehp.1205518