Trace metals in lipsticks

Abstract

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.

Safety evaluation of metal exposure from commonly used moisturizing and skin-lightening creams in Nigeria

“…The demand for cosmetic products across the globe has increased rapidly because of the increasing awareness of the need for beautification of the human body (Ullah et al, 2013) and due to the sharp rise of product advertisements in the mass media (Gondal et al, 2010). Despite the high global demand for cosmetic products, the safety of these products is of major concern and has attracted the attention of researchers, toxicologists, as well as regulatory agencies, with a common goal to ensure safe levels of the ingredients in the products (Linsey and Milnes, 2011;Al-Saleh and Al-Enazi, 2011). Modern brands of cosmetics are being manufactured from natural products as well as synthesized products.…”

Heavy metals contamination in lipsticks and their associated health risks to lipstick consumers

“…Extraction of heavy metals from cosmetics is usually based on microwave-assisted digestion (Al-Saleh and Al-Enazi, 2011;Piccinini et al, 2013;Volpe et al, 2012). The amount of heavy metals extracted depends significantly upon experimental conditions such as sample weight, combination of used acids, temperature, and decomposition procedure.…”

The quantification of total lead in lipstick specimens by total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

“…Arsenic content in lipstick specimens has been shown to be a concern previously with concentrations in lipstick being reported on the order of those of lead for certain lipstick specimens. [2,13] In the case arsenic is present in the sample, a modification to Eqn (2) should be made to account for the counting statistics from the arsenic K˛contribution when determining the LOD for lead. In this study, we did however not find any arsenic after a Bayesian deconvolution of the TXRF spectral in any of the lipsticks measured, and thus, this modification was not made to Eqn (2).…”