Heavy Metal Index

Evaluation of heavy metals in cosmetic products and their health risk assessment

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Source access

Publication
Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal 28(2020):779-790
Year
2020
Authors
Arshad H; Mehmood MZ; Shah MH; Abbasi AM
Source type
peer reviewed
License
CC BY NC ND

Arshad et al. 2020 — Cd, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb in 63 cosmetic products, Pakistan

This study quantifies cadmium, chromium, iron, nickel, and lead in 63 brand-level cosmetic products (in triplicate, 189 measurements total) from three Pakistani markets across six product categories: lotions, foundations, whitening creams, lipsticks, hair dyes, and sunblock creams. Sunblock creams carry the highest Ni, Pb, and Cr concentrations (7.99±0.36, 6.37±0.05, 0.43±0.01 mg/kg respectively); lipsticks carry the highest Fe (12.0±1.8 mg/kg); lotions carry the highest Cd (0.26±0.02 mg/kg). Health-risk assessment uses USEPA Margin of Safety (MoS), Hazard Quotient (HQ), Hazard Index (HI), and Lifetime Cancer Risk (LCR). MoS, HQ, and HI stay within permissible limits for lotions and sunblocks across all five metals; LCR exceeds the permissible limit in every cosmetic product category EXCEPT lipsticks, signalling potential carcinogenic risk from regular long-term use. This is the most comprehensive Cat 2 cosmetic-occurrence source ingested to date and the only one covering sunblock as a primary measurement.

Key numbers

Lotions (30 brands, n=90 measurements; values in mg/kg, mean ± SD):

StatisticCdCrFeNiPb
Max2.131.007.016.298.29
Min0.0070.0080.2710.0120.068
Mean0.2570.2832.1402.5922.809
SE0.0150.0090.0700.0760.091

Highest Cd in L1 Nivea (Dubai, 2.1±0.2 mg/kg). Highest Pb in L19 Johnson’s baby lotion (Italy, 7.94±0.10 mg/kg) — concerning given baby-target marketing. Highest Ni in L1 Nivea (3.24±0.41 mg/kg) followed by Vaseline (Indonesia, 4.32 ± ?). Pb range 0.068-8.29 mg/kg across brands.

Hair dyes (6 brands, n=18 measurements; mg/kg):

StatisticCdCrFeNiPb
Max0.1690.1300.4164.1675.835
Min0.0010.0480.2630.0810.402
Mean0.0570.0860.3102.9004.496

Highest Pb in D3 Garnier Black (London, 5.33±0.18 mg/kg) and D2 Revlon (Italy, 5.02±0.15 mg/kg).

Foundations (9 brands, n=27 measurements; mg/kg):

StatisticCdCrFeNiPb
Max0.1570.30045.46.343.952
Min0.0590.1862.2944.7881.944
Mean0.1090.2389.6385.6843.047

Highest Fe: F1 Dermacol (Europe, 45.45±12.0 mg/kg) — substantial outlier from iron-oxide pigments.

Whitening creams (6 brands, n=18 measurements; mg/kg):

StatisticCdCrFeNiPb
Max0.1380.3212.5986.5994.015
Min0.1000.2741.7995.9412.499
Mean0.1230.2972.1546.2373.250

Whitening creams concentrate Pb because Pb-based pigments (Pb(II) salts) inhibit melanin formation and are historically added intentionally. The 2.5-4.0 mg/kg Pb across all six brands is consistent with that.

Lipsticks (6 brands, n=18 measurements; mg/kg, partial table from PDF):

LS1 Christine Princess (Pakistan): Cd 0.15±0.03, Cr 0.32±0.01, Fe 3.0±2.0, Ni 6.49±0.14, Pb 4.72±0.17. LS2 Be cute Velvet Sensation (Pakistan): Cd 0.19±0.01, Cr 0.33±0.01, Fe 11.0±5.00, Ni 6.48±0.06, Pb 5.02±0.19.

Sunblock creams (6 brands; cited highest concentrations in abstract):

  • Ni: 7.99±0.36 mg/kg — highest across all six product categories
  • Pb: 6.37±0.05 mg/kg
  • Cr: 0.43±0.01 mg/kg

Health-risk assessment (Pakistan adult exposure scenarios):

  • MoS > 100 (safe per WHO/SCCS): met for lotions and sunblocks across all five metals
  • HQ < 1 (non-carcinogenic safe): met for lotions and sunblocks across all five metals
  • HI (sum of HQs across five metals): within limits except for lipsticks
  • LCR (lifetime cancer risk): exceeds 1×10⁻⁴ acceptable threshold in ALL cosmetic products EXCEPT lipsticks

The LCR exceedance across most cosmetic categories is the headline finding. Pb and Cd are Group 2A/2B IARC carcinogens; chronic dermal exposure from regular cosmetic use accumulates over the user’s lifetime.

Reference regulatory limits cited:

  • Canadian HCSC Cd cosmetic limit: 3 mg/kg
  • USFDA dermal reference doses (µg/kg-day): Cd 0.005; Cr 0.015; Fe 140; Ni 5.4; Pb 0.42
  • USFDA cosmetic Fe limit: 50 mg/kg (lotions all within)
  • USFDA / Cosmetica Italia Ni cosmetic limit: 200 mg/kg (all samples within)
  • Recommended Ni for skin-protection cosmetics: <1.0 mg/kg (allergic contact dermatitis threshold)
  • Cosmetic carcinogenicity slope factors (cited): Pb 0.0085, Cr 0.5, Ni 0.91, Cd 6.7 (mg/kg-day)⁻¹

Methods

Sample collection: 189 samples (63 brand-level products × 3 triplicates) from local markets in Abbottabad, Haripur, and Mansehra, Pakistan. Product categories selected based on questionnaire-derived usage frequency >70% in >100 users.

Digestion: 1.0 g sample + 5 mL HNO3, overnight room temp; heat to 90 °C; add 5 mL H2SO4, heat 30-60 min; add 5 mL HClO4, digest to clear; filter through Whatman 41 + dilute to 50 mL. Blanks at 5 per batch.

Quantification: Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 700). Internal standard + NIST SRM 1515 (apple leaves) for QC; recovery 97-102%. All measurements in triplicate.

Statistics: STATISTICA v13.0 + SPSS V13.0; correlation, ANOVA, multivariate analysis. Strong correlations among Cr, Ni, and Pb (suggesting shared sources or co-formulation); Cd and Fe showed disparity (distinct sources).

Speciation: Total metals only (AAS). No speciation of Cr (Cr-VI vs Cr-III) or organotin.

Risk assessment formulas (paper Eqs 1-6):

  • MoS = NOAEL / SED (target >100 for safe)
  • SED = (Cs × AA × SSA × F × RF × BF × 10⁻³) / BW
  • NOAEL = RfD × UF × MF (UF default 1; MF default 100)
  • HQ = SED / RfD (target <1)
  • HI = Σ HQ across all metals (target <1)
  • LCR = SED × SF (target <10⁻⁴)

Implications

Certification: For HMTc Cat 2 covering cosmetic categories beyond just children’s products:

  1. Sunblock is the highest-Pb cosmetic category (~6.4 mg/kg mean) — relevant for children’s-sunscreen Cat 2 rows. The HMTc Cat 2 children-sunscreen threshold should anchor on this finding plus the daily-reapplication frequency and high body-surface coverage of pediatric sunscreen use.

  2. Whitening creams concentrate Pb because of intentional pigment formulation history. While whitening creams are not typically a children’s product, the cross-contamination of whitening-cream raw materials into other cosmetic supply chains is a real risk that HMTc Cat 2 should address via supplier audits.

  3. The LCR exceedance across all categories except lipsticks is the most defensibility-relevant finding. Brand legal teams reading this page should note that the Arshad 2020 dataset specifically supports the claim that “regular use of cosmetics over a lifetime exceeds acceptable cancer-risk thresholds at observed Pakistani-market concentrations.” Pakistan-market is one geography; HMTc Cat 2 thresholds must adjudicate whether US/EU/global supply chains show similar LCR exceedance.

  4. Lotions L1 (Nivea) and L19 (Johnson’s baby lotion) are baby-applicable products with concerningly high Pb (4.57 and 7.94 mg/kg respectively). These are name-brand products available globally; this is not a “regional / disreputable supplier” issue. Per CLAUDE.md Part 12, brand-level values are not reproduced into product-category pages from this source; this source-page citation stands.

  5. Iron concentrations in foundations are very high (mean 9.6, max 45.4 mg/kg) but Fe is not a HMTc-10 panel metal. Captured here for completeness but doesn’t change Cat 2 thresholds.

Courses: Strong case study for cosmetic risk assessment. The full MoS/HQ/HI/LCR machinery is documented in the paper; the 200+ data points across 5 metals × 6 categories × 6-30 brands provide excellent teaching examples.

App: For the consumer app, sunblock + whitening cream + foundation are the highest-concern Cat 2 categories for Pb. The lipstick LCR-low finding is counterintuitive (lipstick has high ingestion-fraction) and warrants further investigation — possibly the smaller per-application volume drives the lower LCR in this paper’s modelling.

Microbiome: Not addressed.

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