Manila: As Filipinos take up the Western custom of dressing up and putting on scary makeup for Halloween, an environmentalist group cautioned that they risk going through real-life horrors by using lipstick containing lead.
Halloween falls on October 31 and beauty shops in the Philippines often sell cosmetics. Lipsticks with no official market authorisation are expected to be sold in large amounts during that day, said Aileen Lucero, coordinator of the environment watchdog, the EcoWaste Coalition.
“The ghastly lead content of these lipsticks should scare the hell out of all of us,” she said warning that women wearing such lipstick may ingest the toxin.
“This will contribute to the build up of lead in the body over time. As scientists have not established a safe level for lead exposure, it’s essential that all unwarranted exposures are avoided,” she said.
Lucero pointed out that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) of the Philippines issued public health warnings in 2013 and 2014 against unregistered lipsticks laced with lead.
Lead, a toxic chemical that has no vital use for the human body, may come from lipstick ingredients that are contaminated with lead, or from lipstick pigments that contain lead, she pointed out.
According to the US-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “pregnant women are especially vulnerable because lead crosses the placenta and may enter the foetal brain, and has also been linked to miscarriage, and pre-adolescents are also at risk as lead has been linked to a delay in the onset of puberty in girls, and the development of testes in boys.”
“Kids typically apply cosmetics such as face paint and lipstick as part of their Halloween costumes. It’s crucial that such products are duly registered with the FDA and proven safe from lead and other bacterial or chemical contaminants that can badly affect children’s health,” Lucero said.
Filipinos, especially among the affluent, have taken to the custom of dressing up for Halloween while younger ones go from house to house to ‘Trick or Treat’, bagging candies and other sweets.
Catholic Church authorities in the Philippines frown upon the Western custom of marking Halloween with horror-themed fun.
Seminarian Khing Latoja Macaranas said such a practice is un-Christian and is contrary to the essence of Halloween, which is All Hallow’s Eve.
“We have to show people that this feast is our feast, not the feast of ghosts and other elementals,” Latoja was quoted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines website as saying.
-Available at leading cosmetic outlets Image Credit: Supplied
