Scientists detected "concerning" levels of chromium, cadmium, and manganese in popular lipsticks and glosses, raising the alarm that your go-to shade could be heightening your risk of dangerous diseases and organ damage. Lead turned up in 75 percent of products; about 30 percent of products contained levels of chromium higher than what’s considered safe when people applied them at the average daily rate. cadmium can be stored in the kidneys and could lead to renal failure. And people who apply and reapply lipstick and/or gloss several times a day could ingest excessive levels of chromium, a heavy metal linked to stomach tumors. Researchers didn’t release the brands tested for two reasons: They didn’t see a significant different between the 32 products tested and didn’t want to give the impression that products not tested were safer.

Use it sparingly.

Call, write, or email the manufacturers of your favorite lipstick shades and tell them having products free of heavy metals

Peruse Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database to find how your favorite products rate and find safer alternatives.

If you’ve ever experienced a rash on your scalp, neck, and chest after dying your hair, don’t be surprised: allergens in hair dyes are more common than you think, according to research presented at the 24th Annual Meeting of the American Contact Dermatitis Society. Researchers looked at over 100 hair dyes and found that phenylenediamine (PPD), which can cause allergic contact dermatitis, was present in 89 percent of products. hair dyes have an average of six dye compounds that can cause a reaction

Check out Campaign for Safer Cosmetics