Lead and other metals in lipstick requires more research, says the health industry

In 2007 a report announced a level of lead in lipsticks. A Poison Kiss, the title of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, was the first of its kind to come to the public’s attention.

The United States Food and Drug Administration published an extensive follow-up in 2011. Its findings revealed traces of lead in 400 lipsticks (The Global Edition of the New York Times, August 21, 2013). Both the FDA and the cosmetics industry insist that levels of lead in lipstick pose no real or unusual health risks to users. The levels are too small to be a safety issue, they say.

However, lead tends to accumulate in the body, say researchers at the Boston University Medical Center. Researchers also note that some users re-apply lipstick, glosses and balms as much as 24 times a day.

A new study has found that many brands of lipstick contain as many as eight other metals, such as cadmium and aluminium. Researchers don’t yet know what happens if these metals are ingested on a daily basis, although they don’t believe that users should panic. The study, released in May 2013 in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, was conducted by environmental health science researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. The UC researchers examined 24 lip gloss brands and 8 lipstick brands popular with teenagers at a community health center in Oakland, California.

The 2011 FDA study found that deep floral pink lipstick had the highest lead levels while a neutral lip balm had the lowest. A European study found that brown lipstick tended to be higher in lead. Saudi Arabia researchers reported that dark colours averaged 8.9 parts per million (ppm) of lead compared with 0.37 ppm in light-coloured lipsticks. Researchers, health agencies, and the cosmetic industry all agree that the metal contained in lipsticks, glosses, and balms - and the effect of their daily intake - require further studies.

Comments

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog