Do You Need To Protect Yourself From Lead In Lipstick?

Did you know that the average woman applies lipstick over 200 times a year? Lipstick has been a beauty essential for centuries, with women around the world loving how it can enhance their look, add a pop of color, and boost their confidence. Whether it’s a bold red for a night out or a nude shade for everyday wear, lipstick has a way of transforming not only a person’s appearance but also their entire style and attitude. Most women focus on the perfect shade or long-lasting formula, not the lipstick ingredients. Yet, there are some who are concerned with the potential presence of heavy metals in lipstick, particularly lead. So, do you need to protect yourself from lead in lipstick? Let’s dive in and explore whether this is something worth worrying about.

Lead In Lipstick: To Worry Or Not To Worry?

To begin, consider the following facts about lead:

• Both the World Health Organization and the United States National Toxicology Program classify lead as a potential carcinogen.
• California lists lead among the chemicals known to the state to cause cancer.
• Research links lead to infertility and developmental harm.
• Studies identify lead as a systemic toxicant affecting central nervous system, particularly the developing brain, and potentially causing learning disabilities, language delays, and behavioral issues.
• Lead is bioaccumulative, meaning it builds up in the body over time and doesn’t break down easily in the environment (source).

This explains the worry about lead as a contaminant of lipstick ingredients. In fact, the issue of presence of lead in lip products made major headlines in the United States in 2013. Publications like Forbes, CBS, The Washington Post, USA Today, TIME, Healthland, and Urban Legends were buzzing about it. Here’s a brief rundown of how the lead issue came to the forefront.

In December 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted the results of lead testing on 400 lipsticks on their website. This testing had originally been conducted in 2007 after pressure from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which is a coalition of consumer advocacy groups, including the Environmental Working Group and Women’s Voices for the Earth.

The tests revealed that lead levels in lipsticks from Maybelline and L’Oreal reached 7.19 and 7.0 parts per million (ppm), respectively. Yet, the FDA concluded that these levels of lead did not pose a health risk. Why so?

What Lead Levels In Lipsticks Are Okay?

Evidently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set guidelines for lead in lipstick in their “Draft Guidance for Industry: Lead in Cosmetic Lip Products and Externally Applied Cosmetics: Recommended Maximum Level.” Per these FDA guidelines, lead levels of up to 10 ppm in lipsticks do not pose a significant health risk. In other words, both Maybelline and L’Oreal lipsticks with their 7.19 and 7.0 ppm of lead would have the FDA approval for use.

Conversely, California Proposition 65 proposed that a lipstick containing 5 ppm of lead and more should have a warning on the product (source). They set the level to 5 ppm to ensure that the Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) of 0.5 micrograms of lead per day (for reproductive toxicity), adopted by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), is not exceeded.  

So, what shall we do – worry or not worry about the exposure to lead through a lip product? To figure out whether lead contaminated lip products are concerning, let me walk you through some math calculations.

How Significant Is Your Exposure To Lead Through Lipstick?

First of all, I believe that a useful benchmark for understanding the level of concern regarding the presence of lead in lipstick is California Proposition 65’s Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) of 0.5 micrograms of lead per day for reproductive toxicity.

I consider this benchmark valuable because it strikes a balance between caution and practicality. While it is one of the strictest regulatory limits available, it is still achievable in everyday product safety assessments. In this case, it provides a clear reference point for evaluating whether lead exposure from lipstick is within a reasonable safety threshold.

I know that some bloggers use lead levels in baby food as benchmark. However, I don’t think it’s fair, given a 1-year-old baby consumes around 300-500 grams of baby food per day. Does a woman use that much lipstick?

According to a 2005 study involving more than 300 women, the average amount of lipstick used per application was 0.005 grams, with only 12% of users applying 0.02 grams or more per application.

In other words, some women apply just a single coat, while others layer multiple coats for a more intense color. Additionally, application frequency varies—some women apply lipstick once or twice a day, while others reapply it frequently, such as after meals, snacks, or throughout the day as needed.

Real Life Lipstick Use Calculations

Before we do math, let me clarify that ppm (parts per million) basically means percentage, and a very small one at that. In other words, 7 ppm is an equivalent of 0.0007%. 

So, let’s take 7 ppm of lead (as found in L’Oreal lipstick) and do our calculations for the most extreme case of generous lipstick application (0.02 grams per application) as often as six times a day: 

• 7 ppm of lead = 7 mcg of lead per gram of lipstick
• 0.02 g x 6 applications = 0.12 grams of lipstick per day
• 0.12 g x 7 mcg/g = 0.84 mcg of lead per day

As you can see, the amount of 0.84 mcg of lead per day exceeds the California Proposition 65 limit of 0.5 mcg of lead per day that we use as a benchmark. (That’s why California set 5 ppm of lead in lipstick as a trigger level.) However, this was our most extreme case, and yet, the amount of lead exceeded the 0.5 mcg limit not by that much.

Now, using the same amount of lead – 7 ppm, let’s calculate for the average woman who applies her lipstick three times a day, with 0.005 grams per application:

• 7 ppm of lead = 7 mcg of lead per gram of product
• 0.005 g x 3 applications = 0.015 grams of lipstick per day
• 0.015 g x 7 mcg/g = 0.1 mcg of lead per day

This result (0.1 mcg) is way below the strict California Proposition 65’s limit of 0.5 mcg of lead per day.

So, Should You Worry About The Lead Levels In Lipsticks?

Remember that the lead amount of 7 ppm used in our calculations is an extreme scenario. Indeed, the 2007 Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) tested 33 samples of lipstick and found 13 with no detectable lead (at a detection limit of 0.02 ppm), 9 with less than 0.1 ppm, and 11 within a range of more than 0.1 to as much as 0.65. In other words — not even close to 7 ppm.

Also, in my over a decade-long experience as an ingredient researcher and product manufacturer advisor, I haven’t seen test reports with lead levels in lipsticks exceeding 1 ppm. Therefore, unless lipstick is part of your meal plan, I wouldn’t worry too much.

Let’s revisit the bloggers who compare lead contamination in products we ingest in tiny amounts to the proposed safety levels for baby food. The key difference here is units of measurement—the proposed lead limit for baby food was not in ppm (parts per million) but in ppb (parts per billion), specifically 5 ppb. To put this into perspective, 1 ppb is 1,000 times smaller than 1 ppm, meaning 5 ppb is the equivalent of 0.0000005 percent lead. In real-world terms, if lead were present in an average swimming pool of 500,000 liters, 5 ppb of lead would amount to just half a teaspoon in the entire pool. Similarly, just as we don’t intentionally drink or eat swimming pool water, we don’t consume lipstick in meaningful amounts.

Stress Is The Biggest Toxin

Don’t get me wrong— lead in lipstick is definitely a concern and not something we want as a lipstick ingredients’ contaminant in our cosmetics. But is it something to lose sleep over? I don’t think so. Remember, stress is incredibly harmful to our health. I say this from experience as I faced a serious health crisis in 2016 that I don’t wish on anyone. 

On the other hand, positive emotions—like the joy you get from wearing a beautiful lipstick—can have a beneficial impact on your health. Sometimes, a little boost in confidence and happiness can be just as important as what’s in the ingredient list.

And if you want to protect yourself from a potentially lead contaminated lipstick — great! For instance, you could use lipstick less frequently and apply one or two coats a day.  Additionally, you could make a habit of wiping off your lipstick before eating or drinking, when you can. Alternatively, you can purchase your lip products from reputable companies that make sure the levels of heavy metals in their makeup are way below 5 ppm (as advised by the CA Prop. 65).

Conclusion: How Can You Protect Yourself From Lead In Lipstick?

You Can Reduce Your Exposure To Lead In Lip Products By Decreasing The Number Of Applications As Well As The Amount Of Lipstick Used Per Application, Wiping Off Your Lipstick Before Meals, And Purchasing Your Makeup From Reputable Companies.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that it is impossible to completely eliminate lead contaminated cosmetics or heavy metals in makeup. What you can do is be selective about products you use and buy from reputable companies that make sure the heavy metal levels in their products are way below 5 ppm.

Do you need to request heavy metal test reports from a makeup company of your interest?

Well, you can if you want to, of course. Just be prepared that most companies that test their products won’t share their reports. And I don’t blame them. When people look at report numbers without knowing how to interpret them, they can become overwhelmed. Also, some test results get blown out of proportion by some bloggers. If this helps, on my website you can find only non-toxic makeup from companies whose test reports I saw personally and confirmed that the heavy metal levels are nowhere near the levels we talked about.

As for me, I use this non-toxic lipstick that not only feels great on my lips but is also safe for everyday use. I especially appreciate that there are no petroleum-based dyes or carmine (crushed bugs) in this lipstick. You can go over the lipstick ingredients in my blog post Non-Toxic Lipstick You’ll Love.

I encourage you to check out my shop and my Amazon shop for non-toxic beauty and household products. Feel free to schedule a consultation if you’re looking to make the switch to a toxin-free lifestyle. Visit the I Read Labels For You blog for access to the latest research on living lead-free and chemical-free.

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