Group: Lipsticks can contain lead

Several lipsticks tested by a U.S. consumer rights group contained lead and some popular brands, including Cover Girl, L’Oreal and Christian Dior, had more lead than others.

Tests on 33 brand-name red lipsticks by the Bodycote Testing Group in Santa Fe Springs found that 61% had detectable lead levels of 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of public health, environmental and women’s groups.

Lipstick, like candy, is ingested, but the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t set a limit for lead in lipstick, the coalition said.

One-third of the lipsticks tested contained lead in excess of the FDA’s 0.1 ppm limit for lead in candy, the group said. Thirty-nine percent of the lipsticks tested had no discernible lead, it said.

Some less expensive brands tested, such as Revlon, had no detectable levels of lead, while the more expensive Dior Addict brand had higher levels than some other brands, the coalition said.

The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Assn. trade group said lead was a naturally occurring element that was not intentionally added to cosmetics.

The FDA has “set strict limits for lead levels allowed in the colors used in lipsticks,” the association’s statement said.

“The products identified in the [Campaign for Safe Cosmetics] report meet these standards.”