Your lipstick has lead in it.

HealthDay News reports that a new analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has concluded that lead levels in many lipsticks are higher than those reported in 2007 by the consumer advocacy group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

USDA used new techniques to determine the lead levels of 22 different lipsticks, all in shades of red. The average level of lead found in the lipsticks was 1.7 parts per million, which is more than 10 times higher than the standard imposed on candy. The FDA did not release the brand names of the lipsticks it tested but did acknowledge that lipsticks from three manufacturers had the highest amounts of lead.

Still, the study hasn't changed the FDA's lenient stance on the issue. Spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said, "Lipstick is a product intended for topical use and is only ingested incidentally and in very small quantities. FDA does not consider the lead levels that it found in lipsticks to be a safety concern. FDA also notes that the lead levels that it found are lower than limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick."

The Personal Care Products Council, which represents the cosmetic and personal care products industry, agreed. It issued this statement:  "[FDA]...found the lead levels present to be safe and well below limits recommended by international regulatory and public health authorities. Consumers who use lipstick ingest only a tiny fraction of the lipstick they apply, and much of the lead that is ingested in that tiny fraction of lipstick is not biologically available because it is trapped inside larger particles and excreted by the body."

Not everyone agrees. Dr. Sean Palfrey, a professor of pediatrics and public health at Boston University School of Medicine and medical director of Boston's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, warned that while the lead levels in lipstick are low, he wonders if they could build up to more toxic amounts that could endanger fetuses and children. "If you put this on your mouth every day, or little kids' mouths or when you're pregnant, is this small amount of lead building up in a way that would actually affect infants, fetuses and young children significantly over time?" Palfrey told HealthDay News. "It's apparent that basically no lead is really good for you, so if you're a company that's making a cosmetic, why include lead at all when you can make a perfectly equal adequate product without lead?"

The bottom line? "Don't buy it," insists Palfrey.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has called on the FDA to "immediately set standards to require manufacturers to minimize lead in lipstick to the lowest achievable levels." But while the FDA does have the authority to regulate color additives in cosmetics, it cannot regulate other ingredients.

The study findings were reported in the Journal of Cosmetic Science.

--From the Editors at Netscape