Heavy Metal Makeup - Why You Should Be Using Natural Makeup

No, I'm not talking about the likes of the group Kiss and Alice Cooper, but the amount of toxins that sometimes are found in makeup products, in YOUR makeup and there for on YOUR skin!

When you read the label of your makeup products you of course will not find heavy metals like lead and arsenic. However, Environmental Defence, a Canadian environmental group tested dozens of common cosmetics products and found that virtually all of them were contaminated with heavy metals.

Researchers purchased cosmetics, like foundations, concealers, bronzers, mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, and sent them to an accredited laboratory to have them tested. The tests were for the presence of heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, beryllium, selenium, thallium and nickel.

According to the Montreal Gazette:

"None of the products tested contained mercury, but lead was detected in 96 percent of the products, arsenic in 20 percent and cadmium in 51 percent. Nickel was found in all the products tested, beryllium in 90 percent, thallium in 61 percent and selenium in 14 percent."

Environmental Defence tested 49 different face makeup items, including five foundations, four concealers, four powders, five blushes or bronzers, seven mascaras, two eye liners, 14 eye shadows, and eight lipsticks or glosses. Their testing revealed serious heavy metal contamination in virtually all of the products:

96 percent contained lead
90 percent contained beryllium
61 percent contained thallium
51 percent contained cadmium
20 percent contained arsenic

Really then, some of these makeup products should really have a toxic warning on them.
Further, each product contained an average of two of the four metals of highest concern (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury), which are designated as toxic in Canada because of proven health concerns. Most of the products also contained an average of four of the eight metals tested (arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, beryllium, thallium, selenium).

Despite the widespread contamination, and the fact that all the metals but nickel are banned as intentional ingredients in Canadian cosmetics, not one of the products listed the heavy metals on the label.

What the researchers said was that,

"There are scientific debates as to what constitutes "safe" levels of heavy metal exposure. Overall, the health effects of heavy metals from cosmetics absorbed through skin requires further investigation. Notably though, the highest levels of arsenic (70 ppm), cadmium (3 ppm), and lead (110 ppm) were all found in lip glosses which could be ingested. Some metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead, can accumulate in a person's body over time. There is limited understanding of the effects of cumulative exposure to these metals."

... Some may wonder why heavy metals in our makeup measured in the parts per million are really a cause for concern; for some of these metals, science has not established a "safe" level of exposure.

Cumulative exposure over time is especially difficult to study, as different combinations of exposures can have different effects, and the possible combinations are seemingly endless, given the number of cosmetics products out there.

Additionally, cosmetics are not the only source of exposure to many of these metals. Arsenic, for example, can be found in some drinking water, lead can be found in old paint, etc., and low-dose exposures can add up.

Eliminating elements like lead, cadmium, and chromium from the body takes over 40 years, with accumulation leading to problems such as nervous system disruption and kidney damage."

So you will want to definitely find save makeup so that you can care for your health and your families health. By clicking on the banners on this page you will be directed to some great sites that I personally use. You can buy great natural and, more importantly, toxin free makeup.

What else can you do? Here is a list of my practical tips:

• Only buy makeup products that have a certificate on them. (Here are some to look for)
• What order are the ingredients listed? The first one will be the largest quantity, and last on the least. So if your cream containing natural aloe vera has aloe vera last, then there isn't very much of it.
• If possible, buy products in glass, rather than plastic.

So, natural makeup is definitely the way to go. Make sure you stock up on great organic and natural cosmetic products. Your skin will thank you for it! If you check out PureNaturalMakeup.com you will be able to read more on the benefits of natural makeup and how you can save your skin from the damage that traditional, toxin laden, cosmetics are doing.