Lead in Lipstick
What is Lead?
Lead is a bluish-gray, heavy metal that occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust and is present in trace amounts in the environment, in numerous foods and in some natural products.
Where does the Lead come from?
Lead is part of the Earth and occurs at an average level of 0.0013 % in the Earth’s crust (13 parts-per-million (ppm)). It is found in the air, water, and soil at levels that are usually below any concentration that would raise health concerns. If you look hard enough using highly sophisticated test methods, lead will be found in nearly all things we use and consume on a daily basis, including food and cosmetics.
What about Lead in lipstick?
Reports about lead in lipstick are not new. In the 1990’s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluated questions regarding lead in lipstick and determined no action was necessary. There have been many reports over the years about lead being present in lipstick, mostly alleging that there are high levels and providing a test purporting to confirm the presence of lead. Most of these reports have been unfounded internet hoaxes without scientific merit that have been circulating for many years.
Link to information of Lead in Lipstick Internet Hoaxes:
(1) http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_lead_in_lipstick.ht...
(2) http://www.hoax-slayer.com/lead-lipstick.html
(3) http://www.scambusters.org/lipstick.html
On December 27, 2007, the FDA issued a “Q and A” about inquiries concerning lead in lipstick. It cited studies conducted in the 1990’s and noted that the FDA’s analyses did not detect levels of lead that would be considered harmful. “The levels found did not exceed trace amounts that would be unavoidable even under conditions of good manufacturing practice, given background levels in the environment.”
Link to FDA’s 2007 “Q and A”:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-pb.html
As with most products used by consumers, it is not surprising to find very low levels of lead in lipstick. Recently, a report was released by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) that presented the analysis of lead in lipstick products. Because of the ubiquitous presence of lead in the earth, lead may occur naturally as a trace level constituent in many products, including cosmetics. The CSC report stated that more than half of 33 brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). The CSC report noted none of these lipsticks listed lead as an ingredient.
The potential presence of lead is well known and the levels are generally quite low and do not present a health risk under conditions of use for cosmetics. The actual level will depend on the ingredients used in the formulation.
Link to information of Lead in Lipstick Internet Hoaxes:
(1) http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_lead_in_lipstick.ht...
(2) http://www.hoax-slayer.com/lead-lipstick.html
(3) http://www.scambusters.org/lipstick.html
On December 27, 2007, the FDA issued a “Q and A” about inquiries concerning lead in lipstick. It cited studies conducted in the 1990’s and noted that the FDA’s analyses did not detect levels of lead that would be considered harmful. “The levels found did not exceed trace amounts that would be unavoidable even under conditions of good manufacturing practice, given background levels in the environment.”
Link to FDA’s 2007 “Q and A”:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-pb.html
As with most products used by consumers, it is not surprising to find very low levels of lead in lipstick. Recently, a report was released by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) that presented the analysis of lead in lipstick products. Because of the ubiquitous presence of lead in the earth, lead may occur naturally as a trace level constituent in many products, including cosmetics. The CSC report stated that more than half of 33 brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). The CSC report noted none of these lipsticks listed lead as an ingredient.
The potential presence of lead is well known and the levels are generally quite low and do not present a health risk under conditions of use for cosmetics. The actual level will depend on the ingredients used in the formulation.
Are these levels of Lead in lipstick a concern?
The levels of lead in lipstick reported by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics are far below all known standards established by regulatory authorities. This is because the amount of lipstick that is applied daily is actually very small. Based on scientifically established use levels, the amount of lead that a consumer is exposed to from lipstick is almost 2000 times below the limit established by EPA for drinking water and more than 30 times below the very conservative safe limit set by the state of California under Proposition 65. Consumers need not be concerned about the trace levels of lead reported by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Link to summary of EPA requirements for lead in drinking water: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/pdfs/qrg_lcmr_2004.pdf
Link to ACSH characterization of CSC Poison Kiss Report: http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1650/pub_detail.asp
Link to summary of EPA requirements for lead in drinking water: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/pdfs/qrg_lcmr_2004.pdf
Link to ACSH characterization of CSC Poison Kiss Report: http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1650/pub_detail.asp
What are the possible routes of exposure?
People are most likely to be exposed to lead through air pollution and the consumption of food and drinking water. Exposure can also occur by inadvertently ingesting contaminated soil, dust, or lead-based paint. Lead may be carried from the soil into plants grown in the soil. Lead paint is a major source of environmental exposure for children who ingest older, flaking paint, paint chips, and weathered powdered paint. Lead can leach into drinking water from lead-based solder used in water pipes and into foods or liquids stored in ceramic containers made with lead glazing.
The trace levels of lead compounds found in lipstick are inorganic and not easily absorbed through the skin.
The trace levels of lead compounds found in lipstick are inorganic and not easily absorbed through the skin.
What are the possible toxic effects of lead?
Exposure to lead may be hazardous to health, depending on the quantity of lead and nature of the exposure. Because of lead’s many modes of action in biological systems, lead could potentially affect any system or organ in the body when a person is exposed at high enough levels.
What have the regulatory authorities done to control exposure to Lead?
Because of the potential for lead to cause adverse health effects, regulatory authorities worldwide have developed regulations to limit exposures to lead. The levels that are set take into account the toxicity of lead, the route of exposure (inhalation, oral or dermal), the anticipated amount of exposure, other sources of possible lead exposure, and then factor in a large safety margin.
For water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted an Action Level for public water supplies of 15 µg/L (15 parts-per-billion).
For food, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a limit of 5 µg/L (5 parts-per-billion) in bottled drinking water. FDA has also set a limit of 100 parts-per-billion (0.1 ppm) for certain candies intended for consumption by small children, assuming an acceptable daily exposure of 6 ug/day. There are FDA lead standards for other foods as well.
Useful Fact: One part per million (ppm) is the scientific term used to denote one part in 1,000,000 parts which is the equivalent of one drop of water diluted into the fuel tank of a compact car or one second in 11.5 days. One part per billion is 1/1000 of a ppm or one second in 31.7 years.
FDA has not set a specific limit for lead in personal care products and cosmetics. However, FDA has also set limits on the levels of lead that is considered safe in the colors that are used in food, drugs and cosmetics. Typically, the allowed levels are 10 to 20 parts-per-million. FDA has a regular testing program to determine compliance with these specifications. However, FDA may consider the presence of lead in cosmetics and personal care products on a case-by-case basis, and FDA has taken action against cosmetic products on rare occasion when they have found the levels to be unacceptably high.
Link to letter from California Attorney General regarding Prop 65 and Lead in Lipstick:
http://ag.ca.gov/prop65/letters.php
For water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted an Action Level for public water supplies of 15 µg/L (15 parts-per-billion).
For food, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a limit of 5 µg/L (5 parts-per-billion) in bottled drinking water. FDA has also set a limit of 100 parts-per-billion (0.1 ppm) for certain candies intended for consumption by small children, assuming an acceptable daily exposure of 6 ug/day. There are FDA lead standards for other foods as well.
Useful Fact: One part per million (ppm) is the scientific term used to denote one part in 1,000,000 parts which is the equivalent of one drop of water diluted into the fuel tank of a compact car or one second in 11.5 days. One part per billion is 1/1000 of a ppm or one second in 31.7 years.
FDA has not set a specific limit for lead in personal care products and cosmetics. However, FDA has also set limits on the levels of lead that is considered safe in the colors that are used in food, drugs and cosmetics. Typically, the allowed levels are 10 to 20 parts-per-million. FDA has a regular testing program to determine compliance with these specifications. However, FDA may consider the presence of lead in cosmetics and personal care products on a case-by-case basis, and FDA has taken action against cosmetic products on rare occasion when they have found the levels to be unacceptably high.
Link to letter from California Attorney General regarding Prop 65 and Lead in Lipstick:
http://ag.ca.gov/prop65/letters.php
