Assessment of cadmium and lead concentrations in different types of cosmetics products consumed in Iran

Overview

Zafarzadeh and colleagues measured cadmium and lead in 264 cosmetic products purchased in Gorgan, Iran from September 2016 to March 2017. The sample frame covered 11 product types, with 24 samples per type: lipstick, nail polish, eyeliner, eye pencil, eyeshadow, eye makeup remover, mascara, pancake, tattoo, hair dye, and hair gel. The paper reports total cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) as µg/g after nitric-acid digestion and voltammetric determination; brand identities are coded by letters, so no brand-name stripping was needed.

Key numbers

• Article identity: National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology 8(8):1200-1204; DOI 10.5455/njppp.2018.8.0411729042018; received April 07, 2018; accepted April 29, 2018.
• Sample frame: 264 samples total, 24 samples for each of 11 product types, purchased from different shops in Gorgan, Iran between September 2016 and March 2017.
• Overall concentration summary from the abstract and Table-based interpretation: Cd mean ± SE 3.69 ± 0.72 µg/g, range < 0.001 to 15.99 µg/g; Pb mean ± SE 9.07 ± 1.126 µg/g, range 0.68 to 63.42 µg/g. The Results paragraph reverses the Cd/Pb labels for these two summary statistics; see Verification notes.
• Product-type means above the source’s Pb comparator: lipstick Pb 15.39 µg/g, tattoo Pb 13.09 µg/g, and nail polish Pb 10.36 µg/g.
• Product-type means above the source’s Cd comparator: eye pencil Cd 5.39 µg/g, lipstick Cd 5.33 µg/g, and tattoo Cd 3.97 µg/g.
• Product-type exceedance proportions reported in the Discussion: Cd exceeded the suggested limit in 18% of lipstick samples, 14% of nail polish samples, and 13% of eye pencil samples; one-third of tattoo samples exceeded the Cd recommendation. Pb exceeded the recommended value in 28% of lipstick samples, 22% of nail polish samples, and 17% of hair dye samples; pancake, hair gel, and makeup cleaner samples had Pb exceedance proportions of 3%, 6%, and 7%.
• Producer-country summary: the mean Cd and Pb concentrations were higher than the paper’s suggested values only for cosmetics produced by China. The paper states that German and French products had Cd and Pb below the permitted limits across the sampled products.
• Statistical tests: Cd differed among cosmetic types (P = 0.038) and Pb differed among cosmetic types (P = 0.013); Cd and Pb also differed by producing country (P < 0.001) and by type of brand (P = 0.038 for Cd and P = 0.013 for Pb). Pb differed by cosmetic color (P < 0.001), while tattoo Cd by color did not (P = 0.08). Cd and Pb in cosmetic products were not significantly correlated (P = 0.071).

Table 1 product/country summaries (Mean (SE), µg/g; brand letters are source-anonymized codes, omitted here):

Methods (brief)

This cross-sectional study purchased 264 cosmetic products from shops in Gorgan, Iran. Product selection considered coworkers’ and friends’ recommendations, price range, and accessible German, French, Turkish, Chinese, and Iranian products. The paper states that 24 samples were collected for each product type.

For digestion, plastic and glass containers were washed, immersed in 10% v/v HNO3 for 24 h, rinsed with deionized water, and dried in clean air. One gram of cosmetic product was transferred to a 100 ml beaker; 5 ml of nitric acid (70%) was added; the beaker was heated on a water bath at around 80°C; acid addition and heating were repeated until white fumes indicated the end of digestion. The cooled solutions were filtered through Whatman no. 45 into a 100 ml calibrated flask and diluted to volume with deionized water.

Cd and Pb were determined by voltammetry using a Metrohm 797 VA Computrace with a hanging mercury drop working electrode, platinum auxiliary electrode, and Ag/AgCl reference electrode. Analytical standards were prepared from 1000 mg/l stock solutions; Cd and Pb concentrations were quantified by linear regression from voltammogram peak heights. Statistics used IBM SPSS Statistics 20 at P < 0.05, with descriptive means/SE, one-way ANOVA for product type, brand, color, and producer country, and Pearson correlation between Cd and Pb.

Speciation: total Cd and total Pb only. No species distinction beyond elemental Cd/Pb is reported.

Related evidence

• Lip products (lipstick, gloss, lip liner, adult lip balm)
• Eye makeup (liners, shadows, mascara, brow products, false lash adhesives, lash/eyebrow serums)
• Manicuring preparations that remain on nails/skin (basecoats, polishes/enamels, cuticle softeners/creams)
• Makeup — foundation, powders, blush/rouge
• Facial cleansers (foaming, cream, gel, oil, micellar)
• Tattoo inks (permanent and temporary)
• Permanent hair dyes/tints (remain in hair after application)
• Leave-on hair preparations (leave-in conditioners, tonics/dressings, styling aids, hair sprays, color sprays)
• Cadmium
• Lead

Update history

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