Listen up, ladies. You might want to think twice before applying your lipstick.
A new study by the Food and Drug Administration has found 400 lipsticks on the market tested positive for tiny levels of lead. Although the FDA said lead levels in lipstick were well below safety standards, and do not pose a health risk, consumer and health advocates are calling on the agency to set tougher standards.
According to the report posted on the FDA’s website – at http://1.usa.gov/sNtz49 -- five L’Oreal and Maybelline lipsticks had the highest lead levels. The least tainted: "Wet n' Wild Mega Mixers Lip Balm Bahama Mama."
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has called on the FDA to toughen limits for lead levels in lipsticks.
“We have assessed the potential for harm to consumers from use of lipstick containing lead at the levels found in [FDA] testing,” said agency officials, in a statement posted on the FDA’s website. “Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities. We do not consider the lead levels we found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern.”
They added: “Although we do not believe that the lead content found in our recent lipstick analyses poses a safety concern, we are evaluating whether there may be a need to recommend an upper limit for lead in lipstick in order to further protect the health and welfare of consumers.”