Applied Lipstick Lately? You Could Be Eating Nine Pounds of Lead.

Apply. Lick. Repeat.

That’s my mantra when it comes to lips. Before meeting, after eating and, dangerously, while driving, I spend a lot of time applying lipstick or lip gloss to my lips. And according to the Environmental Working Group, all that licking means that I, an average woman, will eat more than nine pounds of the stuff over my lifetime.

Nine. Pounds.

All grossness aside, this fact wouldn’t be so alarming if it weren’t for another: In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a division of the EWG, found two-third of lipsticks contained lead, a known neurotoxin that has been linked to brain damage and miscarriages, among other horrors.

Nine. Pounds. Containing. Lead.

That’s enough to make me sit up, take notice, and dump the containers of my makeup bags into the trash (fearful all the time that I should be disposing of the stuff as hazardous waste).

But the news has gotten better: This year, Canada banned lead in lipstick. In August of 2008, a single vote in the State Assembly barred a similar ban in California. With a new introduction of the bill on deck for 2009, the geniuses at Teens Turning Green launched a clever “Lips Against Lead” petition, in which people are encouraged to apply lead-free lipstick and kiss an organic cotton petition, that will then be sent to the Assembly when the teens show up to shame them into passing it.

Last week, Sarah Jane Morris (“Brothers and Sisters”), Katie Gill (“Drillbit Taylor”), Kristen Renton (“Days of Our Lives”), Carolyn Hennesy (“General Hospital”) and eco-lifestyle expert and author Anna Getty slicked up with organic, paraben-free Terra Firma Longevity Lip Stain in gorgeous, berry-red Rosalie to “sign” the petition at my second-annual EcoStiletto Green Girl’s Night Out at Intuition for Dress for Success [http://www.ecostiletto.com/index.php?/Beauty/photos/C5].

I applied, kissed, licked and breathed easy.

Have you looked at the ingredients in your lipstick lately? Check your brand at www.cosmeticdatabase.com, then tell me what you think!

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Comment by Kari on March 28, 2009 at 3:47pm: Thanks, we will check it out.

Comment by ecostilettor on March 28, 2009 at 3:46pm: Great! You and she should take a look at www.teensturninggreen.org. It's pretty inspiring! xxR

Comment by Kari on March 28, 2009 at 3:34pm: I have heard some scary stories about what ingredients are actually in makeup. Thanks for posting this, it really makes me want to do some research on the products I'm using. And, my twelve year old daughter is just starting to get interested in makeup, so I definitely want to know what's safe for her to use.

Comment by LaurenRN on March 20, 2009 at 6:09pm: Glad to hear about this. I now have a good excuse not to use lipstick-I don't like how it tastes anyway! Gotta wonder what's wrong with these people who put this stuff in products, tho. Probably related to the wonderful people who were putting that chemical in baby bottles. Thanks for this great blog! Lauren 1-4-caregivers.com

Comment by ecostilettor on March 19, 2009 at 6:29am: Ooh didn't know you could add items I'm going to have to check that out! ;-) R

Comment by Kendra Loveless on March 18, 2009 at 11:28pm: Thanks for the friend-add :) I did check it out, and even added an item they didn't have a report on. My mineral concealer from Target got a 5 :( But I guess compared to most other concealers, that's about average. Thanks again, have a great night!

Comment by ecostilettor on March 18, 2009 at 7:58pm: You're welcome! Check everything on it, not just lipstick. I did!

Comment by Kendra Loveless on March 18, 2009 at 7:43pm: Eeewww... Lucky for me, I only wear the stuff about 2% of the time. I WAS considering dolling-up more often, but this may change my mind on that... The database is awesome though, and thanks for the link :)