Lipsticks Are Full Of Toxic Lead According To An FDA Study

It seems that toys are not the only product contaminated with traces of lead. As reported by a group of consumers in the US, more than half of the lipstick contains traces of this metal and a third of the bars have higher levels than those authorized in sweets. Authorities have requested that the issue be analyzed in our country.

At the moment, the FDA (the US agency that regulates drugs and food) has already said that it will investigate this complaint, although it has clarified that in the past these types of alarms have not been confirmed.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics group bases its complaint on the analysis of 33 red lipsticks of popular cosmetic brands, which they acquired in different establishments in several American cities.

According to their study, twenty lipstick (61%) contained detectable levels of lead. In the US, health authorities do not set a limit for the levels of this metal allowed in lipsticks, although there is a threshold for the amount of lead allowed in candy: 0.1 ppm (parts per million). In the present analysis, one third of the bars contained higher levels. Specifically, several products of the Maybelline, Cover Girl, Peacekeeper, Dior and L'Oreal brands.

The accumulation in the body of high amounts of this metal can pose health risks, especially in children and pregnant women. The presence of lead in cosmetic products and their ingredients is prohibited. Before the report of the American consumers, many countries hastened to request an investigation on the presence of lead in the lipsticks of the mentioned marks.

Sources of the Institute have clarified that, being a cosmetic product, the issue is not among its powers. They have indicated that they are still studying the subject. Since being a report is not prepared with cosmetic products, they have to analyze to what extent it affects those that are commercialized.

For its part, FDA immediately proceeded to check if the products indicated in the study are for sale in the US with the same composition and, in If necessary, proceed to its rapid withdrawal.

The manufacturers speak

Representatives of the cosmetic industry have rushed to reassure users: "The cosmetic industry, for the sake of the safety of its consumers, does not add lead in its products (...). The potential traces of lead that might be present in the ingredients, they are strictly controlled by the manufacturers of cosmetic products. The finished product goes through strict controls and a safety assessment that guarantees that it is absolutely safe for use," according to sources.

"The levels of lead measured in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics organization's report are very far from the daily allowable amounts established by the World Health Organization," L'Oréal said in a statement, which stressed that they comply " rigorously "international safety standards. "There is absolutely no safety problem with the products that L'Oréal sells," the group said.

"Lead is never used in cosmetics intentionally. Even then there are regular claims of lead presence in cosmetics. This heavy metal is present naturally in the earth’s environment. We get exposed to lead in our everyday life through breathing, eating and drinking water. At the same time, the lead present in lipsticks is like 1000 times lesser than what we are exposed to during our everyday life." the US employer said in a statement.

The US agency also recalled that in the past these types of warnings have not been substantiated, although it has assured that it will carry out the pertinent investigations following the new report. "In general, these concerns have not been endorsed by the FDA's own analysis of the products on the market. In the present case, we are analyzing the specific details of the issue," said a spokeswoman for the agency." We will have to confirm the actual basis of these reports independently, to determine what action, if any, may be necessary."

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says that this is "an unnecessary and avoidable problem", because in 13 of the bars studied (39%) they did not find detectable levels of lead. The presence of the metal was not related to the price. One of the products that in his analysis showed to have more traces was the most expensive, while other cheap bars did not contain any lead.