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Cosmetics still retain their glittering appeal, but public concern about their toxicity has become a hot issue. Trace amounts of toxic metals can be either intentionally added to cosmetics or present as impurities in the raw materials. We therefore assessed the levels of lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium, mercury, antimony, and arsenic in 14 brands of lipstick (28 samples) that are widely available in local Saudi markets. This study found that the levels of all metals were generally lower than the specifications of the US Food and Drug Administration for metallic impurities in color additives used in cosmetics. Only one brand of lipstick exceeded the specifications, containing levels of arsenic higher than 3 ppm. Also, the levels of nickel and chromium contents in 10 and 4 of the 28 lipsticks, respectively, were above 1 ppm, the trigger limit of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). Despite the metallic contents in lipsticks being below the acceptable limits for impurities in color additives used in the cosmetic industry, safer limits should be seriously considered, especially for those causing ACD.

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Aim: Coronavirus infection has caused disease at the pandemic level with several deaths worldwide and affected all aspects of human life. One way to minimize virus transmission and its effects is to perform mass vaccination within the general population so that herd immunity is developed against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, low health literacy and vaccine hesitancy are potential threats in achieving this. The present study is designed to measure the Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception levels towards COVID-19 and assess public perception and acceptance levels of the vaccine among the general population in the Hail province of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A bilingual, community-based questionnaire, consisting of the respondents’ socio-demographic profile, COVID-19 knowledge, and attitude & perception towards COVID-19 vaccination, was circulated using different social media platforms. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Appropriate knowledge level was found in 74.8% of the respondents, whereas inappropriate knowledge levels were observed in females and participants with non-health-related occupations and were inversely related to willingness to the vaccine. More than 60% of the respondents had a negative attitude towards the COVID-19 vaccine, as only 51% were willing to get vaccinated. A negative attitude was significantly associated with female respondents. Conclusion: Our study reports a high knowledge level among the respondents in the Hail province. However, there is also a decreased willingness to be vaccinated, suggesting that more vaccine and health literacy seminars should be conducted to generate awareness among the general population in the Hail province, KSA.