It’s Baaaack: the Lead in Lipstick Scare

The “lead in lipstick” scare has resurfaced – this time led by a pressure group called the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC). The CSC submitted 33 lipsticks to an independent lab for lead testing. Of course, none of the lipsticks list lead as an ingredient; rather it is an adulterant – you know – like rat droppings and insect parts in your food.



The CSC needed some benchmark for comparison. They chose the FDA limit for candy, which is 0.1 parts per million. Since lipstick is neither a food nor a drug, the FDA does not set a limit on the amount of lead that can find its way into a tube of lipstick.



That’s an extremely conservative limit of 1 atom per 10 million because young brains are most susceptible to lead damage and kids are typically big consumers of candy. (Pregnant women should beware as well, since ingested lead can migrate across the placenta.)



One can argue that the CSC candy benchmark is inappropriate. We don’t eat our lipstick. We use only a small amount each day. Lipstick users are not young children whose brains are most susceptible. Etc., etc. But if it’s a benchmark rather than a limit, what’s the difference?



Read more information about lead in lipstick.



Tags: Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, lead in lipstick, lead limits