What’s in your lipstick?

Lipstick dates back to ancient times.  It accentuated lips with natural materials.  But these days, lipstick products contain more ingredients than before.  And as Cindy Csordas reports, a study out of California suggests at least 8 different metals found in lipstick now can make you sick.
400 lipsticks tested contain as many as eight metals.

That’s what the University of California at Berkeley study discovered.

“These types of studies you have to take with a grain of salt or in this case a grain of metal.”

Dr. Ron Vender at St. Joseph’s Healthcare here in Hamilton says people shouldn’t panic.

“They have to be absorbed and go into the bloodstream and it’s such a minute amount it’ll unlikely it’ll cause a health risk even long term.”

Here at Strut Salon in Hamilton, they’re not too alarmed by the findings.

“If there are other natural products out there why not go with those instead. But it’s nothing to make me freak out and never put on lipstick again.”

“I’ll probably still wear the same brands I’m used to because they’re just what I like if there’s an option more natural I’d be willing to try it.”

“The study shows teenaged girls are putting on lipstick 24 times a day. However, doctors say 2 or 3 times a day is enough.”

It does lead to toxicity that can affect your organs but the lead in the lipsticks is extremely low.”

Which means if you kiss someone with lipstick on you could be ingesting those metals too.

“I probably should’ve mentioned I’m poison.”

A kiss won’t kill you like Poison Ivy’s will. But Doctor Cender says if the metals are ingested excessively it would be harmful to your health. That’s why doctors say children shouldn’t be given lipstick to play with because if they eat it, which little ones will do sometimes , it could really hurt them.