Lead in Lipstick: FDA Investigates

The Food and Drug Administration will investigate the results of an advocacy group's tests, which revealed lead in lipstick at levels that exceed FDA safe levels for candy. Lipstick doesn't have a lead standard, but the group, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, says a person is likely to ingest lead in lipstick just as it would from a candy, so the dangers are comparable.

The FDA, according to the Chicago Tribune, said previous tests of this kind have not been verified. An industry group has disputed the results.

The group's results, from an independent laboratory, showed that half those products tested had lead, and one-third exceeded the safe limit set for candy.

Lead can cause brain damage, and is most threatening to developing children and developing fetuses. The damage can cause a permanent reduction in IQ and other lingering neurological problems.

For more on this story, including a list of those lipsticks that had the most lead in the group's tests, click here.

Learn about potentially safer alternatives here: 11 Lead-Free Lipsticks

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