Non-Toxic Tip: Lead in Lipstick
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 8:48PM 
There are still a few non-natural beauty products lurking in my bathroom that survived "the big purge" when I looked up every single one of them in the Environmental Working Groups’s cosmetics database and chucked the baddies. I recently got up the courage to throw away one of the survivors- my gorgeous Guerlain Divinora red lipstick. Why had I kept it in the first place?
1) It was the perfect shade of red for my coloring- not too orange not too blue
2) Every woman needs to have at least 1 red lipstick especially if it is the perfect shade
3) I was sentimental because it had been pilfered from the beauty closet of a New York magazine back when a close friend of mine was a lowly beauty assistant (especially since said friend is now a famous beauty expert)
So how was I able to finally get the courage to throw it away?
1) The lipstick is now 10 years old and no words can actually describe just how gross that is (although if you have a strong gag reflex read here)
2) I can’t locate an ingredient list for the lipstick nor does the Environmental Working Groups’s cosmetics database contain any Guerlain lipsticks
3) I have better mementos of my friendship like the signed beauty books she's published
Red lipsticks are notoriously bad for the Ecobeautista because compared with other lipstick colors they contain higher amounts of lead according to this CNN article. A study by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in 2007 found that 61% of the lipsticks tested from a variety of companies contained lead. I think we all know that lead is bad so it’s pretty shocking that it’s an ingredient in more than half of lipsticks out there. However as a reminder lead is a neurotoxin and no amount is safe. Remember when it became common knowledge that lead paint was bad? If you wouldn’t paint your walls with it do you want to be wearing it on your lips? No thanks!
So I’m on the hunt for some nice eco red lipsticks. If you have any recommendations let me know!
Reader Comments (1)
I haven't tried it yet, but PeaceKeeper's "Paint Me Compassionate" looks like a stunning red. And a #2 on Skin Deep.