The Lead Carpet: Who’s going to lose?

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Health World
Lead in her Lipstick? Not Meryl! Not in real life. But as Margaret Thatcher it seems to fit the character.
According to a new FDA study, the media highlighted a federal analysis revealing that approximately 400 shades of popular lipsticks contained trace amounts of lead. Of the top ten most toxic lipsticks, five were made by L’Oreal and Maybelline,  both owned by L’Oreal; two were made by Cover Girl and two were made by NARS.  With popular brands topping this list, many media outlets have picked up the story, asking both cosmetic manufacturers and federal regulators, how safe are our lipsticks?
Lead in lipstick brings new meaning to the glam in glamor at this year’s Oscar celebrations as many of the contender’s vying for best actress are being seen in the most dangerous color. Red!
Lead — a proven neurotoxin — is a heavy metal known to be harmful to the developing brain, even when exposures are too low to cause obvious signs and symptoms.

 

 

 

 

The FDA study reveals the most toxic lipstick was found to contain a lead level of 7.19 parts per million (ppm) — a significant increase since the last FDA study in 2007.  To put this number in context, the  current maximum allowable lead level in drinking water is 15 parts per billion (ppb).

According to Dr. Philip Landrigan, who spearheaded the removal of lead, a toxic chemical, in paint and gasoline in 1978, as a result, 30 years later, this discovery has produced a 95% decline in childhood lead poisoning, increased the average IQ by six points, and saved the U.S. government $200 billion each year.

But should we be concerned with hollywood’s vested images in promoting a fatal attraction to the color red?

While consumer advocate groups argue that no level of lead is safe — as exposure builds up over time as lipstick is used — the FDA believes otherwise.  “The levels we found are within the limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics,” they said.

But we all know the race for Oscar is fraught with a competition which means more than just the color of lipstick. This year’s contender’s will walk the red carpet unknowing that even the smallest amounts of lead can cause brain damage in infants and children. Dr. Landrigan strongly recommends that women avoid any lipstick that contains lead. “A child’s vulnerability to lead is greatest in the nine months of pregnancy — causing damage to the developing brain during the earliest weeks, before a woman is even sure that she is pregnant.”

Tomorrow night’s event the price for fame comes with the misfortune of learning that the cosmetic industry will go to great lengths to make you think that beauty is not ONLY skin deep.  But a walk on The Lead Carpet may prove  that all that glitter is not worth the price for gold.

Editor’s note:

For lead-free alternatives, see the Daily Green’s list of 11 lead-free lipsticks.

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Article by Nancy Chuda

Nancy Chuda is a seasoned broadcast journalist, television writer/producer, talk show host and author. Her career spans over three decades having appeared on both national and cable television. In 1971 she authored one of America’s first low-calorie cookbooks, How To Gorge George Without Fattening Fanny, published by Hawthorn Books. Appearing as a regular guest on Dinah’s Place, Dinah Shore’s ABC daytime talk show. And later on The Johnny Carson Show, The Today Show with Barbara Walters, Merv Griffin, Phil Donahue, and David Frost. In 1972, Nancy and ABC’s Good Morning America co-produced Michael Krause produced a cable program, The Low- Calorie Gallery, based on her best selling cook book. In 1975, hired by Warner-Amex as part of a creative team, she was responsible for hosting and producing content for Columbus Then and Now, a program, the invention of QUBE, an interactive television system which played a pivotal role in the history of American cable television. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QUBE In 1978 she developed a series for ABC’s Good Morning America based on an article which appeared in Mother Earth News magazine. The Integral Urban House, a case study project and model for a sound urban habitat sponsored by the Farallones Institute in Berkley California was the first example of green architecture ever to be televised. In 1979, Nancy co-produced and hosted Sunnyside a Los Angeles based public affairs program viewed on the CBS affiliate station KNXT, From 1980-1984, she appeared on KABC’s Eyewitness News as entertainment reporter and film critic. Her environmental advocacy began when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer. In 1990 she co-produced an Emmy nominated ABC Variety Special, An Evening With Friends For The Environment to benefit Mothers and Others for a Livable Planet one of the first national children’s environmental health advocacy groups in which she served as a volunteer. Currently, she is the co-founder and President Emeritus of Healthy Child Healthy World, a non-profit organization established to honor the Chuda’s only child, Colette, who died in 1991 at the age of 5 from Wilm’s tumor a nonhereditary childhood cancer. She is also the co-founder of The Colette Chuda Environmental Fund, a donor-advised fund which supports major epidemiological research on children’s health. Nancy has won numerous awards for her advocacy. In 1996, the California League of Conservation Voters Environmental Leadership Award, The Healthy Schools Heroes Award, presented to both her and her husband James Chuda by California Governor Gray Davis for their legislative efforts in securing The Healthy Schools Act which was signed into law in September, 2000. In 2003, Parent’s Magazine published an article Mom’s On A Mission and awarded Nancy for her environmental leadership for children’s environmental health. She serves as an associate of the Director’s Council of Public Representatives of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and was appointed by President Clinton’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna Shalala, to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) a position she held for four years. In 2010, along with her husband James she founded LuxEcoLiving. Nancy Chuda tagged this post with: , , , , , , , , Read 160 articles by

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Nancy Chuda, Co-Founder of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World
James Chuda, Co-Founder of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World
Bethany Colson, Consulting Editor of LuxEco Living and Beauty Expert
Christopher David Kaufman, Marketing Director of LuxEco Living
Brooke Rewa, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Dow-Yung Kou, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Jessica Borges, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Bradlee Gold, LuxEco Marketing Assistant
Derin Richardson, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Lauren O'Neill, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Hannah Canvasser, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Basil Vernon, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Michelle Dennis, LuxEco Marketing Assistant
Bernadette Bowman, LuxEco Advocate and Comedienne who writes the Life Goes Retrograde
F.R.E.E. Will, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of the In The Spice Cabinet series
Mary Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of the Resplendent Repurposing series
Will Lana, Vice President of Trillium Asset Managment and LuxEco Advocate
Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate
Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Kerin's Seasonal Cooking series
Kammie Daniels, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Lisa Adams, Designer and CEO of LA Closet Design and LuxEco Advocate
Sahar Ghaffari, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Joanna Bateman, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Dr. Harvey Karp, Pediatrician and Child Development Specialist and Creator of "The Happiest Baby on the Block” and “The Happiest Toddler on the Block” book and DVD series World and LuxEco Advocate
Florence "Flip" Ross, LuxEco Advocate
Nina Montee Karp, Executive Producer & Director The Path of Wellness & Healing and LuxEco Advocate
Emily Lynne Ion, LuxEco Advocate
Molly Cimikoski, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Lush Huxley, LuxEco Editorial Assistant
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Executive Director/CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World and LuxEco Advocate
Zhenya Gershman, Artist and LuxEco Advocate
Anna Getty, Author and LuxEco Advocate
Christopher Gavigan, Board Member and Former Executive Director of Healthy Child Healthy World and LuxEco Advocate
Lewis Perkins, Founder of Women Are Saving The World Now and LuxEco Advocate
Francine LeFrak, Founder of Same Sky and LuxEco Advocate
Interested in contributing with our LuxEco Advocate program? We are looking for experts, researchers, academics, activists and everyday people who want to join our cause to make the world a safer, healthier place for all of and nature to flourish in, in harmony! Email the Manager Editor, Bethany Colson