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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Lead found in lipsticks: FDA report

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/21/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Your favourite lipstick may be exposing you to lead, according to a recent report from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration.

In total, the FDA found 400 lipsticks on the market that tested positive for lead. Of the brands tested, the least contaminated lipstick (and also the cheapest) was Wet 'n' Wild Mega Mixers Lip Balm Bahama Mama.

Five L'Oréal and Maybelline lipsticks ranked among the most contaminated with lead.

Maybelline's Color Sensational Pink Petal lipstick had the most lead of all those tested -- a level of 7.19 parts per million.

Other brands in the report include Cover Girl, Revlon, Estée Lauder, M.A.C., Burt's Bees and Almay, among others.

Yet the FDA adds that consumers should not be concerned about the lead in lipstick, since so little is actually ingested. For comparison, children's products in the U.S .are required to have less than 100 parts per million. Others are skeptical, including the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which is arguing for the government to set stricter limits on contaminants in beauty products. Health Canada has recommeneded that cosmetics contain less than 10 parts per million.

Last month an advisory committee to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report stating that there is no safe level of lead for children, yet also stressing the urgency of preventing lead exposure for both children and pregnant women.

"While lipstick is not sold to children, any mother will tell you it's hard to keep them away from it," writes Forbes magazine on the issue, adding "and pregnant women are often not appropriately cautioned about lead levels in lipstick."

According to the FDA's website, an expanded survey will be published in the May/June 2012 issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Science.

-- From Free Press news services

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 21, 2012 D1

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