Pucker Up Safely with Lead-Free Lipstick

Do you have lead-free lipstick? The USDA found 400 lipsticks that contain lead in them.

Lead-Free Lipstick is a Thing

I never knew this was even a thing.  My husband very rarely sends me an email about an article he had recently read (not that he doesn’t read articles…but I guess they don’t resonate as much as this following one did).

The levels are so small that we need not fully worry, but some people do ingest lipstick.  This brings back memories of practically eating my cherry Chapstick…thankfully this lead-free lipstick isn’t on the list!

According to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead is a “naturally occurring element found in small amounts in the earth’s crust. While it has some beneficial uses, it can be toxic to humans and animals, causing health effects.” As for why lipsticks contain lead in the first place, “It’s not that cosmetic companies are intentionally putting lead in the product,” says Birnur Aral, Ph.D., Director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Health, Beauty and Environmental Sciences Lab. “Lead can come in as a naturally occurring contaminant of the pigments used in lipstick formulas.” It’s for this reason that you’ll never find lead as a listed ingredient on a product label.

The ten lipsticks that contained the most amount of lead are:

1.  Maybelline Color Sensational, Pink Petal (7.9 ppm)
2. L’Oreal Colour Riche, Volcanic, (7.0 ppm)
3. NARS Semi-Matte, Red Lizard (4.93 ppm)
4. Cover Girl Queen Collection, Ruby Remix, (4.92 ppm)
5. Nars Semi-Matte, Funny Face (4.89 ppm)
6. L’Oreal Colour Riche, Tickled Pink (4.45 ppm)
7. L’Oreal Intensely Moisturizing Lipcolor, Heroic (4.41 ppm)
8. Cover Girl Continuous Color, Warm Brick (4.28 ppm)
9. Maybelline Color Sensational, Mauve Me (4.23 ppm)
10. Stargazer Lipstick, #103 (4.12 ppm)