FDA reports lead in 400 Lipsticks

The FDA recently published an update to their 2007 study on lead in lipstick. Then they found lead in all 20 lipsticks sampled, up to 3.06 parts per million. In the updated study the FDA found lead in 400 lipsticks, ranging up to 7.19 parts per million and averaging 1.11 ppm.

While all but the worst two lipsticks fell below California’s strict laws on unsafe lead levels, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics immediately countered that “lead builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels.”

By comparison, the EPA’s safe level for lead in drinking water is 15 parts per billion, or 100 times less than the average amount in the lipsticks studied. All sources were concerned that the amount of lead has increased in the four years between the two studies.

Good Earth Beauty’s recommends lead-free lipsticks:

Lippy Girl

Gabriel Lipstick

Zuzu lipstick by Gabriel