Lead belongs to the heavy metal category like aluminum, arsenic, chromium, iron, mercury, and zinc. Heavy metal elements are present in soils and rocks. Some of these metals like zinc and iron are vital to life but only at minimal levels. Lead, mercury, and cadmium can be poisonous. Metals accumulate in different body organs.
- Lead accrues in the bones.
- Cadmium and mercury pile up in the liver and mercury.
- Methyl accumulates throughout the body.
You can find these metals in skincare products which include eyeliners, eye drops, foundations, lipsticks, moisturizers, nail colors, and whitening toothpaste. Some manufacturers include them as ingredients while others come out as contaminants.
Exposure to such compounds could possibly lead to immune, nervous system, and reproductive issues, according to some online articles and health journals. What should consumers look for on product labels?
- Lead Acetate
- Chromium
- Hydrogenated Cotton Seed Oil
- Thimerosal
- Sodium Hexametaphosphate
As a form of practice, most manufacturers (if not all) avoid listing products with toxic metals on ingredient labels. At the same time, heavy metals have essential roles in the human body’s normal functions. For example, body oxygenation cannot take place without iron. The accumulation of heavy metals causes severe adverse effects. Lead as well as mercury are not necessary in the body’s normal physical tasks.
Hazardous Effects
Lead has been associated with neurotoxicity like language, learning, and behavioral issues. The metal is also linked to menstrual as well as hormonal irregularities, infertility, and delay of puberty among girls or development of testicles among boys. As a precautionary measure, check your skincare products thoroughly.
Heavy metal poisoning refers to the accumulation of these compounds in the body’s soft tissues. Symptoms and physical outcomes vary based on the metal that has accumulated. Poisonous metals interfere in the metabolic processes leading to disorders. These are capable of accumulating in the body and human food chain. Heavy metal poisoning usually takes place because of pollution (air or water), foods, medications, food containers, and absorption of lead-based paints.
Precautionary Measures
Wear makeup or use products with dedicated metal-testing policies. Lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium are considered natural products. However, anything natural or organic with heavy metals at hazardous levels can still pose a significant threat to our health.
Consumers have several alternatives:
- You might as well omit makeup like lip gloss, eye shadow, mascara, and foundation unless you can buy products that use plant-based colors.
- Purchase brands utilizing third-party tests for the presence of lead or other heavy metals. Keep these compounds off your skin. You don’t need them at all.
- Buy from a safe supplier. Conduct your research on various companies and determine their position on heavy metals in relation to their products. Inquire if the company conducts batch testing. Your criteria for cosmetics and personal care items must include performance and safety.
FDA on Lead Content
The Food and Drug Administration sought to find out the levels of lead in various cosmetic items including lipstick. This metal happens naturally in our environment which makes impurities in skincare unavoidable. As the lead federal government agency in regulations, the FDA takes prompt action to remove products that contain lead at dangerous levels from the market.
In December 2016, the agency released guidance to the industry on lead as a form of contamination in lipsticks, blush-on, eye shadows, body lotions, shampoos, and compact powders.
Safe Products to Use
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported discovering lead in a small collection of lipsticks in the market in October of 2007. The FDA and private sector groups also conduct regular monitoring on lead levels for products that include the following:
- Makeup
- Body powders
- Lotions
- Shaving creams
- Hair styling gel
Scientists from the FDA developed and confirmed a new technique for lead analysis in lipsticks using this procedure to discover lead content in hundreds of lip products in the local market. There may be no clear-cut rules about heavy metals in your personal care products.
Even then, consumers always make the final decision when it comes to buying and using makeup, lotions, creams, moisturizers, and others. See to it that you make informed decisions for your well-being in the short and long-term to avoid the severe effects on your skin and possible illness .
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