L’Oreal Stands Proudly Behind Lead
Just when you think you’ve heard it all… along comes L’Oreal. New product tests by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found lead in lipstick — and six of the top 11 most lead- contaminated brands were made by the French company L’Oreal. The titan of the beauty industry responded not by apologizing, not by promising to get the lead out, but by using the same old tired excuses: other products contain more lead than our products; we can’t live in a lead-free world; and we’re in “full compliance with FDA regulations” — which isn’t hard to do because THERE ARE NO REGULATIONS. How dumb does L’Oreal think we are? When Mattel was caught with lead in its toys, the company didn’t argue that there’s more lead in water. They copped responsibility. But not L’Oreal … I guess we’re just not worth it. Take action to clean up L’Oreal!
October 12th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
The double standard between cosmetics and the toy industry was exactly what I thought of when all of this came to light! Are we supposed to believe that lead is not harmful, but for kids it’s another story? I can’t believe this. I feel completely betrayed by a few of my favorite cosmetics companies. I would not be even surprised if they were aware of it in the first place. The FDA does nothing to protect us, so they can get away with whatever they desire!
I think we need to treat cosmetics like the way we treat food. After all, many of it is ingested and absorbed into our bodies, every day and continually over a long period of time! So now we’re supposed to believe the BS that it’s “everywhere,” naturally? Yeah right, who wants an everyday dosage of lead on their lips? Not me!
October 13th, 2007 at 3:55 am
This website demonstrates florid mental illness. What a total and bitter lack of insight it hawks.
October 16th, 2007 at 7:05 am
The Cosmetic Industry has now been exposed for their complete lack of concern for ensuring that products they sell are safe for us to use. Another area we all need to be concerned about is the under funded and under staffed FDA. They provide little or no oversight for many of the products consumed or used by millions of us each day. It is time to write your Congressman and demand that the Cosmetic Industry be required to list all ingredients contained in their products and require the FDA to do their job by providing oversight of an industry that fails to ensure its products are safe.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
The comments from L’Oreal are heartless toward women, their very marketing target, so it shows utter stupidity on the part of the company. Now it’s up to women to show how smart they are by simply boycotting L’Oreal’s products (and any other company which has a total disregard for the wellbeing of women.)
So…women of the world unite! You are more beautiful in your natural form anyway, but if you feel you have to use cosmetics, please do yourself a favor (and your unborn child as well) by checking out some good resources on the safety of your cosmetics, such as “Not Just a Pretty Face,” by Stacy Malkan. Give that book as a gift for Christmas, birthdays, etc. so your sisters, friends, mothers will not poison themselves as they use cosmetics. Be well, be safe!
October 17th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I contacted an organic cosmetics company to ask why they use lead at all in their lipstick. Their response: they choose minerals, from the earth, that naturally contain very small amounts of lead. They could choose a synthetic option, but then the lipstick wouldn’t be all natural, and organic.
Do you buy this?
October 18th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Hi Jen, no I don’t buy that. It is true that naturally occurring ingredients can become “naturally” contaminated with lead (which is a problem in ground soil because we allowed companies to put lead in gas and paint for so many years). Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, for instance, can be lead contaminated. However, cleaner sources of these elements are also available that aren’t lead contaminated. The bottom line is that companies can make lead-free lipstick if they want to.
Stacy
October 30th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
When the news of lead in lipstick hit the mainstream press, I watched attentively to see what kind of comments/responses would be put forth by the cosmetics industry. There was some kind of talking head from some kind of cosmetic/toiletry group or office. (it was something I had never heard of before) Their response to the lead findings was laughable. His retort was that there are no lead guidlines for lipstick, so the levels used in the study were for candy. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said that this was an invalid study as we don’t eat lipstick. To even suggest that lipstick is not ingested…well, I can guess he’s never had a great makeout session!! : )
December 4th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Regarding your response stating that there are cleaner sources of Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide that are not lead contaminated and that companies CAN make lead-free lipstick….do you have a list of the companies??
There are so many companies out there in the organic/natural makeup category, it can be daunting to find the best one.
Thanks for all your knowledge.
Elizabeth
December 27th, 2007 at 5:58 am
Hi, my name wiki. I’m 16 and I like your site very much. Ill be back soon.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Stacy,
Is L’Oreal selling the same lipstick (with lead) in Europe? I’ve read in Mark Shapiro’s book, Exposed, that cosmetics companies often sell safer products in Europe - because of EU legislation banning certain substances that are allowed in the US - while still selling the potentially harmful ones in the States.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:05 am
thank you, man
April 5th, 2008 at 9:13 am
well done, brother
April 15th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Hello to everyone.
No one in my family will ever buy any products for L”Oreal again. For years I have used their hair dyes and nail polishes, but no more. This sickens me. Add the cosmetic companies to the ever growing list of sociopaths in our country that are only concerned with their profits.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
i had my hair analysed not so long ago expecting to find high levels of aluminium in it.
i have high levels of lead!
i was wondering where that was coming from besides traffic fumes!
the multinationals are bound to try to shut you up
thank goodness you have managed to publish a book that informs us on the content of the everyday thing we use
i’ve been into this for years but never had access to the product contents - allowing me to see for myself if any of the carcinogenic chemicals were in the things i use.
it was my discovering Dr Huilda Clark who is an expert on toxic substances that damage our health - seen by some as extreem – that i got wind of how toxic many of our products are.
poor woman has to go everywhere with her lawyer as the multi nationals are out to shut her up!
the problem with multi nationals is that no one is accountable!
the buck doesn’t stop anywhere and they have such wealth that they can drag court cases out for ever….
but with the people making a big noise and not buying their products the share holders will make them comply!
haven’t read your book yet - am in south africa
what do you suggest we do to get things changed?
May 16th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Hi hoh,
You are on the right track with how to get things changed — make noise and stop buying toxic products. It is working, the companies are definitely paying attention. But you are correct, there is no accountability with the multinationals. There is no framework for considering human health and well-being as a measurement of their corporate success. The companies are pressured to keep increasing profits and they do it by convincing us we need more of their products, by finding new markets (check out the Chinese business strategy of Proctor & Gamble in my book!), and they have to keep costs low with cheap synthetic chemicals. The world is changing though, and fast. Thanks for helping to give the beauty industry a makeover!
Stacy Malkan
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