Lead in your lipstick?

A few years ago I received an email about lipstick containing lead.  It actually made me nervous enough to start wearing more gloss and less lipstick. I thought I would do a little research on this topic after I read about a lady who is on a campaign to bring awareness to this topic.  This is what I found.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a non-profit organization, goal is to protect the health of consumers.  They conducted a test in 2007 to check lead levels in 33 different lipstick brands ranging from inexpensive to expensive.  Disturbingly they found that 61% of the lipsticks contained lead.  The FDA, our regulatory government agency, to date has not released any information about whether they are conducting tests or received information on tests in process.  Even with the urging of several Senators they are stonewalling. 

Why any amount of lead is scary:  Through the course of a woman's life, she may eat about 4 pounds of lipstick.  This occurs naturally through licking the lips or eating while wearing lipstick.  Lead even in small doses can build up in your body.  Lead is a neurotoxin that can lead to major health problems.  Lipstick can be made without lead but certain pigments such as red may not be as vibrant.  Without making lead in lipstick illegal by the FDA, manufacturers of lipstick do not have any concern for consumers.  In the State of California there was a bill to regualte this issue but through lobbying efforts it was defeated in 2008. 

Today I read about a woman, Tara Lee with Best in Beauty, who is on a campaign, "Message on a Mirror".  She is urging consumers to write a message in lipstick on a mirror to the FDA.  Send your message to her at takeaction@bestinbeauty.com.

What else can you do? Write a letter to Dr. Linda Katz, Director of the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, and Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Frank Torti. http://tinyurl.com/crsoz7 You can also check to see if your brand of lipstick has been tested by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. If you find that your brand does contain lead write a letter to the company. Share this information with all the women you know to make them aware of the dangers lurking in their beauty products.

Check out this link to another greenwala member's make up post.  She explains how to make natural lipstick and blush from just 2 ingredients.  http://www.greenwala.com/community/blogs/all/377-I-Scream-You-Scream-We-All-Scream-For-Beety-Cheeks?f=true