Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic

Welcome to our new weekly column on the YOU magazine website, www.you.co.uk  Below you will find the current question and our advice, with a list of where to source the products mentioned.  To look at past columns, click here. And for lots more solutions to your beauty dilemmas, visit Q&A, just click here.

December 20th, 2009: Lead in Lipsticks

Q I've just had yet another email warning me about lead in lipsticks. Can you tell me whether there is any truth in this? And if so, are there any good natural lipsticks please?

A As you say, this email has been doing the rounds for some years.  Many people have dismissed it as a ‘beauty myth’ but there is some truth in it.  In 2007, the American-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC, www.safecosmetics.org)  tested 33 popular brands of lipsticks for lead content at an independent lab.  Turned out that 61 per cent contained lead at significant levels.  A follow-up study by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) two years later found lead in all samples of lipstick it tested, at levels four times higher than those found in the CSC research.

The question is how harmful are traces of lead in lip products, bearing in mind that most women apply it several times daily, and we all know that when it disappears, lipstick doesn’t float off into the air – we eat it.  The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which are primarily concerned with preventing lead poisoning in children from building materials, paints, toys and sweets, recommends avoiding the use of cosmetics that may contain lead.  In the CDC’s Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, it states ‘No safe blood lead level has been identified.’  Young children and pregnant women are most at risk, but at higher levels (which may be attained by accumulation of small amounts over years), lead can damage kidneys, blood and nervous system.

However, Dr Christopher Flowers, director general of the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association in London, points out that while the European Cosmetics Director specifically prohibits the presence of lead in any cosmetic product, with today’s sophisticated analytical methods, tiny amounts of many substances can now be detected almost anywhere.  For this reason and the impossibility of removing every final trace from everything, the Cosmetics Directive allows traces of prohibited substances provided they are technically unavoidable, could not reasonably be removed during or after manufacture, and that the product remains safe.  If levels are avoidable, then avoidance is required.’

The FDA is firmly sitting on the fence, saying they don’t believe there is potential for harm from use of lipstick at the levels found in its testing: ‘Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use, is only ingested incidentally and in very small quantities.’

So…. it’s your decision!  If you do want to gloss up naturally, Korres Guava Lipstick, £13.50, proved very popular with our testers – and for a denser finish they liked Bare Escentuals Lipstick, £12.50 in 10 shades, (our testers loved Wearable Nude, which also comes as a lip gloss and lip liner, both of which scored highly too). 

For luscious lips, The Organic Pharmacy scored highly with their Ultra-Glossy Lip Plump, £16.59 in 5 shades, hotly followed by Aveda Lip Shine, £11.26 in 6 shades.  Favourite lip liner pencils include Logona Lipliner Pencil, £8.50, (Nutmeg is the most wearable shade), Korres Lipliner Pencil, £7 (try Neutral Light) and Dr Hauschka Novum Lipliner, £11.98 in two neutral shades.

We . . .

Nelsons Pure & Clear Skincare, £5.30-£8.  For acne sufferers, blitzing their spots would be the fast-track to a Happier New Year.  We counsel avoiding harsh toners and ultra-medicated products in favour of this gentle but effective natural and holistic anti-blemish range from Nelsons, who have a trusted homoeopathic heritage.  The two-way approach is kickstarted by taking Sulphur 30 (there’s a ClikPak in the range), and then a choice of cleansers (wash or wipes), Oil Control Toner and Blemish Gel, based on key skin-soothing calendula, arnica and hypericum, pus tea tree oil.

Where to find products:

Korres Guava Lipstick, £13.50, is available online from www.asos.com

Bare Escentuals Lipstick, £12.50, is available to purchase online from www.lovelula.com. Don’t forget your exclusive 5% discount with all online orders

The Organic Pharmacy Ultra-Glossy Lip Plump, £16.59 for 10 ml, is available to purchase online from www.theorganicpharmacy.com

Aveda Lip Shine, £11.26 for 15 ml, is available online from www.aveda.co.uk

Logona Lipliner Pencil, £8.50, is available online from www.beautybazaar.co.uk

Korres Lipliner Pencil, £7, is available online from www.asos.com

Dr Hauschka Novum Lipliner, £11.98, is available to purchase online from www.drhauschka.co.uk

Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Archive

December 13th, 2009 - Natural Beauty
December 6th, 2009 - Make-up Makeover
November 29th, 2009 - Camouflaging Small Scars
November 22nd, 2009 - Waterproof Mascara
November 15th, 2009 - Postnatal Hair Loss
November 8th, 2009 - Splitting Nails
November 1st, 2009 - Under Eye Lines
October 25th, 2009 - Facial Cleansers
October 18th, 2009 - Winter Colours
October 11th, 2009 - Omega-3 and probiotic supplements
October 4th, 2009 - Winter Skincare
September 27th, 2009 - Jawline
September 13th, 2009 - Thread Veins
September 6th, 2009 - Thread Veins
August 30th, 2009 - Vitamin C and Skincare
August 23rd, 2009 - Beat Stings and Itches
August 15th, 2009 - Sunscreens
August 9th, 2009 - Good Skin Care
August 2nd, 2009 - Lash Conditioners
July 26th, 2009 - Spa Treatments
July 19th, 2009 - Organic Tinted Moisturiser
July 12th, 2009 - Hair Protection
July 5th, 2009 - Cellulite
June 28th, 2009 - Sexy Summer Scents
June 21st, 2009 - Eyeliner Tricks
June 14th, 2009 - Natural Suncare
June 7th, 2009 - Anti Ageing Skin Care
May 31st, 2009 - Natural Nail Polishes
May 24th, 2009 - Body Polishing
May 17th, 2009 - Rosacea
May 10th, 2009 - Manky Feet
May 3rd, 2009 - Makeup Makeover
April 26th, 2009 - Facial Hair Removal
April 19th, 2009 - Teen Skin
April 12th, 2009 - Swimmers Hair
April 5th, 2009 - Make-up For Damaged Skin
March 29th, 2009 - Are Sunbeds Safe?
March 22nd, 2009 - Weak, Flaking Nails
March 15th, 2009 - Puffy Eyes
March 8th, 2009 - Camouflaging Red Cheeks
March 1st, 2009 - Hair Colouring in Pregnancy
February 22nd, 2009 - Thinning Eyebrows
February 15th, 2009 - Acne