New research finds traces of lead, arsenic, and cadmium in several beauty products
Yasameen Marjan
Contributor
The next time you pick up a new shade of lipstick, keep in mind that there are a number of dangerous ingredients missing from that label.
Ontario-based researchers, from Environmental Defence, an organization dedicated to testing heavy metals in face makeup, tested 49 make-up items from six Canadian women’s makeup bags for heavy metal toxins. Nickel was found in 100 per cent of the 49 items while lead was found in 96 per cent of them.
Of the 49 makeup items tested, lip glosses contained the highest levels of arsenic, cadmium, and lead.
Lip gloss is easily ingested, accumulating in the body over time, which can lead to serious health problems in the future. Your body would need about 40 years to eliminate lead and cadmium from your system.
Among popular makeup brands, CoverGirl’s Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner was found to contain beryllium, cadmium, nickel, and lead, while L’Oreal’s Bare Naturale mascara was found to contain arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, nickel, lead, and thallium. Clinique’s Stay True makeup contains arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, nickel, lead, and thallium.
Over time, even minuscule traces of heavy metals can cause significant damage to the body because when they accumulate, they are known to cause or contribute to hormone disruption and health problems such as cancer, neurological problems, memory loss, mood swings, reproductive and developmental disorders, kidney problems, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, lung damage, dermatitis, and hair loss.
Jacqueline Choiniere from the School of Nursing at York says, “We need to be concerned about the cumulative effect of using these products over time, as well as using them in the context of so many other chemicals in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the other products we use on a daily basis.”
“Clearly, we are experiencing a dramatic increase in cancer rates, rates of asthma, allergies, migraines, and many other conditions,” says Choiniere.
While we still do not have a numeric value for what is a safe level of heavy metal exposure, research suggests the absorption of toxins and metals into the skin is a major cause for concern.
So why are these toxins not included on the labels of makeup products? The heavy metals found in make-up products are not ingredients used to produce the make-up, but rather, impurities of raw ingredients that are. Companies are not required by law to include product impurities on the label.
Although this information will concern the majority of the female student body, it probably won’t guarantee that you stop using makeup cold turkey.
Instead, here are a couple tips to protect yourself from unnecessary exposure to these toxic chemicals.
Choose safer products
Check out ewg.org/skindeep/, which has a Skin Deep Database allowing you to look up your makeup products to find out which toxins they contain, and the health effects they can have.
Less is more
Consider applying makeup less often to let your skin breathe or eliminate some products from your routine.
Become active in health policy making
To make sure safer products are widely available and affordable, we must help pass laws that prohibit the industry from creating toxic products. We can start by petitioning major makeup companies, demanding they list all the harmful toxins in their products on labels.
Dr. Choiniere says, “I would suggest that we need more vigilant testing of products and stronger regulations on manufacturers to ensure these products are safe before they are released for sale.”
