Have you ever thought there may be high levels of lead in your lipstick? 

I’ll admit, this isn’t something I’ve thought about.  Oh sure, we’ve all heard about the lead that’s been found in children’s toys and there was a recall just two weeks on various jewelry manufactured for children, but lipstick?  I’ve never even thought about it – until now and that’s only because I found a story which says Senators John Kerry, Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are urging the Food and Drug Administration to begin testing a wide range of lipstick brands for the presence of lead, to report their results, and to limit lead in lipstick and other cosmetics products to “the lowest detectable levels found in laboratory tests.”

The action reportedly comes on the heels of a report last month by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which found that in over half of the lipstick brands tested, lead was found in 61% of the 33 cosmetic brands and according to those findings, one-third of the lipsticks exceeded the FDA-recommended limit for lead. Currently the agency sets no limit for lead in cosmetics products, nor does it require companies to safety test products before putting them on the shelves. The FDA told the Associated Press in October that the agency would “look into” the laboratory results of lead in lipstick disclosed by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. So far, the FDA has not released any data.

Said Senator Kerry:

“Dangerous levels of lead in lipstick is the latest reminder that insufficient safeguards at the FDA pose real risks to everyday Americans. There has been a continuous flow of unnerving news in recent months about the FDA’s clear lack of oversight and inspection. Washington is gambling with our health, whether we are aware of it or not. It’s time for the FDA to start taking this responsibility more seriously.”

Among the top brands testing positive for lead were:

• L’Oreal Colour Riche “True Red” – 0.65 ppm
• L’Oreal Colour Riche “Classic Wine” – 0.58 ppm
• Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor “Maximum Red” – 0.56 ppm
• Christian Dior Addict “Positive Red” – 0.21 ppm

On the other hand, Anitra Marsh of Procter & Gamble, which owns CoverGirl, says that since pigments come from the earth, they might also contain trace amounts naturally occurring lead at extremely low levels, but that they don’t pose any risk to consumers and all pigments used are FDA approved.

L’Oreal’s response echoes Marsh’s statement:

“Each and every ingredient used in our products has been thoroughly reviewed and tested by our internal safety team made up of toxicologists, clinicians, pharmacists and physicians.”

For more information, check out the website: Campaign For Safe Cosmetics.