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Dear Dr. Gott: I recently received an e-mail about lead in lipsticks. The e-mail apparently originated from a physician in the breast cancer unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. This is how the e-mail read:
“Recently, a lipstick brand called `Red Earth’ decreased prices from $67 to $9.90. It contained lead. Lead is a chemical that can cause cancer. The higher the lead content, the greater the chance of causing cancer. Some of the lipstick brands that contain lead are Christian Dior, Lanc”me, Clinique, Y.S.L., Estee Lauder, Shiseido, Red Earth (Lip Gloss), Chanel (Lip Conditioner) and Market America-Motnes Lipstick.
After doing a test on these lipsticks, it was found that Y.S.L. contained the highest amount of lead. Watch out for lipsticks that are supposed to stay longer. If your lipstick stays longer, it is because of the high content of lead. There is a simple test you can do at home. First put some lipstick on your hand. Then use a gold ring to scratch it. If the lipstick color changes to black, it contains lead.
Dear Reader: I have done some minimal research regarding this matter and have found that this information is misleading. It is true that the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics conducted a study in 2007 when it purchased 33 brands of lipsticks in four cities and tested them. They claim that more than half tested positive for lead.
Because the Food and Drug Administration does not set restrictions on lead content in lipstick, it
used the maximum allowable level for candy (0.1 percent) as a guideline.
Some lipsticks were found to have a level of two to six times higher (0.2 percent to 0.65 percent). There are several versions of this e-mail being circulated.
The most common version claims to be from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and mentions dioxin carcinogens (which was in a previous false e-mail regarding water and plastic bottles). There is no mention of this warning on the Walter Reed Web site.
The test that is mentioned in the e-mail is also false.
There are several materials that will turn black when a gold ring (and several other metals) are scratched through them, including plain wax.
This means a “positive” test result is ultimately unreliable because the main ingredient in lipstick is wax.
The most glaring mistake in the e-mail was the lack of attention to the potential hazards lead can cause. Long-term exposure to lead can cause cancer.
However, lead is dangerous in several other ways, including kidney disease, stroke and developmental issues in children. Short-term exposure can also have potentially dangerous consequences.
Had this e-mail been from a legitimate medical source, cancer would not have been the main focus.
Several of the lipstick manufacturers that responded to claims of lead in their lipsticks claim that lead is not a component and that the positive results are most likely due to the natural exposure to lead that occurs every day from a variety of sources.
I believe the only potential danger from this is the dual exposure from natural sources and the lipstick accumulating over time.
To learn about the study, visit Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at (www.safecosmetics.org). For more information on the falsehoods of the e-mail, visit New Zealand’s Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrances Association Web site (www.ctfa.org.nz).