Tuesday

Get the Lead Out ...of Your Lipstick!



The latest report that many common lipsticks brands contain detectable levels of lead is enough to turn your beautiful smile into a frown and leave you wondering the true cost of beauty.

A Poison Pucker
In a 2007 issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Science , U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists reported that all of the 20 lipsticks it tested contained lead, a proven neurotoxin that occurs naturally in the environment, at levels ranging from 0.09 parts per million (ppm) to 3.06 ppm. These results build on two previous studies, one from Health Canada and another from the U.S.-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC), a national coalition of not-for-profit organizations working to improve the safety of personal care products.
"There are many others sources of lead exposure, which is why we don't need to also be exposed to lead through products we smear on our lips," says Stacy Malkan, co-founded of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry (New Society).
You might be thinking – surely, a little lead is worth it to have the perfect  lips. It depends on who you ask.  Well, one study estimates that the average woman consumes about