Some of the most popular lipsticks sold in Canada contain excessive amounts of lead.

However, Health Canada claims there’s no health risk for consumers.

Twenty-one of 26 samples tested at Health Canada’s product safety laboratories contained lead levels of 0.079 parts per million to 0.84 parts per million. One lipstick sample had 6.3 parts per million. “It was deemed to be negligible risk and to meet acceptable standards for sale,” Health Canada said.

Only one lipstick tested in Canada contained no detectable levels of lead.

In the U.S. tests, the highest lead content found was 0.65 ppm (L’Oreal Colour Riche True Red), in excess for maximum allowable lead content in food products established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Canadian results were significantly worse than the American study. Of the 33 samples tested in the United States, 13 contained no detectable traces of lead, CanWest reported.

Just think of the numbers: 80 percent of lipsticks sold in Canada contain amounts of lead that are higher than allowable amounts in the US cosmetics. The formulations must be identical, or they make separate products for Canadian market?

According to Canadian legislation, oral products can contain higher amounts of lead. Health Canada allows lead in amounts of 10 parts per million, according to standards set by the United States Pharmacopeia for lead impurity for oral products.

Health Canada says this standard is “protective of consumers,” including younger girls, National Post reported. However, science has not established safe level of lead in the blood. Lead accumulates in human body over years of exposure. Lead is especially dangerous to babies and fetuses.

Lead and lead compounds, proven neurotoxins, are prohibited ingredients in cosmetics in Canada, but lead can contaminate the raw materials during the manufacturing process. Colour additives to synthetic pigments also contain lead.

In 2007, U.S. group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics released a report titled “A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipsticks.”

The American study prompted the state of California to decide that any lipstick containing five parts per million or more would require a safety-hazard warning to consumers; the state law prohibits companies selling products in California from exposing individuals to chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without a warning label.

But there’s ray of hope. Health Canada is currently developing guidelines for heavy metal impurities in cosmetics, and expects them to be in place by the fall. Most likely they would not be mandatory, but at least it’s a step in the right direction. [SOURCES: National Post, CanWest)