It can seem adorable for a little girl to want to look like her mommy. She will put on a pair of high heels and messily apply the darkest shade of lipstick she can find to her tiny mouth. A recent report suggests that this seemingly cute behavior could pose some health risks.

USA Today reports on an FDA finding regarding the existence of lead in many popular brands of lipsticks. According to tests, 400 lipsticks currently sold contain lead and, therefore, could be a dangerous product. At certain levels, lead can cause injury, most easily among children. There are regulations for children's products that limit how much lead can be present. But should lipsticks be better regulated?

According to reports, even some of the most popular lipsticks (that are not the cheapest in price) contain lead, including Maybelline, L'Oreal and more. One of the products has a lead level of 7.19 parts per million. A way to somewhat evaluate the significance of that number is by comparing it to the lead level limit that's set for kids' products in the U.S., which is 100 parts per million.

Some scoff at the idea that parents should worry about the amount of lead found in lipsticks. But the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics argues that no level of lead is safe in products. And that is particularly true for products used by children. If a family has a child who consistently plays with lipstick, they might have reason to worry.

Lead poisoning can cause serious problems such as interruptions in kids' brain development. As pretty as your daughter might look in your lipstick, safety is more valuable than beauty and fun. It could be a good idea to lock up the lipstick either until your child gets older or until lead is no longer present in the popular beauty product.

Source

USA Today: "FDA finds trace amounts of lead in 400 lipsticks," Tara Meyer, Feb. 15, 2012