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Lipstick Love Without the Lead

January 27, 2011 by 18 Comments

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I am a lip balm/lipstick junkie. I can’t get enough of the stuff.  I have lipstick containers stashed everywhere-in the car, drawers, coat pockets, bathrooms-no space is spared.  I love lipstick.

FDA finds lead in most lipstick

I began to have second thoughts about my addiction to lipstick when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new study in September 2009 finding lead in all brands of lipstick tested.   This was really bad news for me and all other lipstick lovers since health experts have found there are no safe levels of lead.

What really worried me was the number of times during the day that I licked my lips or lipstick got on my teeth, food and tongue and made its way into my body.   The lips are one of the most sensitive and absorbent parts of the body.

Photo used under Creative Commons from Tania Saiz

Lead is not something to be messed with.  It can build up in your body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels.

It is pretty scary stuff to know that currently the FDA does not regulate the lead, or any other toxin, in lipstick.  The companies producing the lipstick are not required to list lead as an ingredient.  These companies are completely in compliance with the FDA’s regulations and can continue to use lead in their products.  So there is no way of knowing if a product is truly lead free.

How do you know if there is lead in your lipstick?

One option is to contact the company directly to ask if their lipstick has lead.  The Daily Green came up with a great list  back in 2007 of  11 lipsticks that don’t contain lead. Great to know that these lipsticks are lead free, but some do contain other toxins that could be ingested and most didn’t score very well on EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

My list of safe lipsticks:

I decided to create my own short list of lipsticks  that I either use or have used that don’t contain lead.  I contacted each of these companies to verify they are lead free.  An added bonus-3 of these  received a low hazard score on EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

  • Hemp Organics Lipstick
  • PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics
  • Gabriel Cosmetics Lipstick Received a moderate hazard score on Skin Deep.
  • Miessence
  • Mychelle Dermaceuticals -my favorite color suede Not rated on Skin Deep.

What can you do to promote safe cosmetics?

Get involved in The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and take action to spread the word that safe is in and toxic is out.

If this post helped you, please share it. And please grab our RSS feed or sign up for free e-mail updates to get more Groovy Green info hot off the press! Thanks!


*Top photo used under Creative Commons from May Cristof

*Disclosure: If you buy anything through the Amazon links in this post  it will put a few pennies in my pocket-thanks!

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Filed Under: Eco-Friendly Companies, Green Cosmetics, Green Living, Healthy Choices, Healthy Living, Non-Toxic Living, Product Review Tagged With: cosmetics, Environmental Working Group, green, Green Living, lead, lipstick, non-toxic lifestyle, Personal Care Products, Skin Deep

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristina (The Greening of Westford)

    January 27, 2011 at 8:26 am

    Love this post. I have just become more aware of the dangers in lipstick/lip balm too. In fact, I decided the only safe way to provide my children with lip balm was to make it myself! Which was very easy BTW!

  2. Robin M

    January 27, 2011 at 9:09 am

    But but but I love my Burt’s Bees pomegranate lip gloss.

  3. Lori

    January 27, 2011 at 10:15 am

    Hi Robin. I just checked on Skin Deep and Burt’s Bees lip gloss scored a 3 on the hazard score key-not bad. Unfortunately, Burt’s Bees probably does contain lead. Check out Burt’s Bees for more info. Time for some new lip gloss??? Sorry!

  4. Lori

    January 27, 2011 at 10:16 am

    Hi Kristina! ok-you need to share your recipe……another great product idea! What a great solution DIY lip balm.

  5. Shoshana

    January 29, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    I love your site – always a go-to for tips on living a greener life! Cheers!

  6. Lori

    January 29, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    You are so sweet Shoshana. Thanks so much for the lovely complement. So nice to have you on board.

  7. Lindsay

    December 15, 2014 at 1:39 pm

    Great article! Do you know if the companies you’ve recommended test and screen for lead? Most lead is not intentionally added to the lipstick but is a byproduct of natural colorants. I’d be curious to see if these companies are testing for lead on an ongoing basis!
    Lindsay recently posted..What’s under my kitchen sink?My Profile

  8. Sarah

    February 22, 2018 at 4:35 am

    Hi Lori,
    First, thank you so very much for all the wonderful and highly important information.
    I also would like to ask you if you feel safe about Benecos lipstick ( any color). Does it contain any toxins?? I think I read somewhere that it is lead free but as you say, if a product is lead free it doesn’t necessarily toxic free.
    I would appreciate your 2 cents with regards to Benecos lipsticks.
    thank you so very much,
    Sarah.

  9. Lori

    February 23, 2018 at 2:01 pm

    Hi Sarah, I’m not sure about Benecos. Did you reach out to the company to ask about lead? That would be a great starting point. I took a quick look on the Skin Deep site and they don’t have any information about the brand. I would definitely start by contacting the company and asking questions. Please let me know what you find.

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention Lipstick Love Without the Lead | Groovy Green Livin -- Topsy.com says:
    January 27, 2011 at 11:14 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sandra Lee and Lynn Fang, Lori Popkewitz Alper. Lori Popkewitz Alper said: Before you put on your lipstick boys and girls-Lipstick Love Without the Lead http://t.co/owbUoqz […]

  2. Product Review: Ecolution Hemp Messenger Bag from Ethical Ocean | Groovy Green Livin says:
    December 7, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    […] while back I confessed my obsession with lead free lipstick. I have a similar obsession with cool ‘green’ bags. I was thrilled to receive an Ecolution hemp […]

  3. Product Review: Ecolution Hemp Messenger Bag from Ethical … | Eco Friendly Products says:
    December 7, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    […] while back I confessed my obsession with lead free lipstick. I have a similar obsession with cool ‘green’ bags. I was thrilled to receive an Ecolution hemp […]

  4. How to Make Your Own Lip Balm | Groovy Green Livin says:
    May 1, 2012 at 11:31 am

    […] on lip balm to keep my lips from chapping. Many over the counter lip balms contain all sorts of toxins and long ingredient names that are impossible to pronounce, so I’m hesitant to put them on my […]

  5. paleo cookbook pdf says:
    January 3, 2013 at 12:07 pm

    the paleo diet cookbook…

    I like this post, enjoyed this one thankyou for posting ….

  6. Green Report: Weekend Edition | Groovy Green Livin says:
    May 3, 2013 at 12:09 pm

    […] told you this before-I am a lip balm/lipstick junkie. I can’t get enough of the stuff.  I have lipstick containers stashed everywhere-in the car, […]

  7. WOOED Handcrafted, Sustainable Wood Sunglasses | Groovy Green Livin says:
    September 6, 2013 at 11:30 am

    […] my house, car and purse. I know this isn’t very green, but we all have our vices.  Lipstick and lip gloss (all non-toxic of course!), sunglasses and maybe a few pairs of jeans are my not-so-green […]

  8. My Picks for Non-Toxic Lipstick and Lipgloss says:
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    […] For a few more options take a look HERE. […]

  9. My Picks: 4 Non-Toxic Mascaras for the New Year Groovy Green Livin says:
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    […] it would be mascara with lipstick coming in at a close second. When I was in my teens lipstick or lip gloss would have been the front-runner since at the time I had long, dark lashes and rarely used mascara […]

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Hi! I’m Lori, a recovering attorney, writer, and mom to three teenagers. Join me as I uncover and share the latest info on healthy living.

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