Heavy Metal Toxins in Cosmetics

Recently, concern over the presence of heavy metals in some cosmetics products has cropped up within and outside the industry. The ingredients in cosmetics, with the exception of color additives, do not need to be approved by the FDA before the product can go to market. When used according to the manufacturer’s direction, cosmetic products must be safe for consumers to use, but cosmetic suppliers are not required to share their safety data with the FDA. To address the concerns about possible heavy metal contaminants, the FDA conducted surveys on various brands of cosmetics. 

Specifically, the agency conducted tests looking for the presence of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, and nickel. Toxic metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, chromium, and mercury can build up in the system over time. From 2012 to 2013, the FDA selected a variety of products, from lipsticks to blushes and eye shadows to determine if they contained significant amounts of toxic metals. 

After numerous tests conducted over several survey groups, the FDA found that the tested products contained very small amounts of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury and nickel. The FDA currently has no information to show that the amounts of heavy metals found in cosmetics pose any public health risk, but should consumers be concerned? Both surveys conducted by the FDA showed that eye shadows, blushes, and compact powders contained higher amounts of heavy metals than other cosmetics, but these metals are bound up in the minerals found in fillers and pigments, so are not absorbed by the skin. Currently, there appears to be very minimal risk of heavy metal exposure through cosmetics products.

For more information about heavy metal toxins and their effect on the body, contact Chelation Health Products. We offer a variety of chelation and detoxification products.