Levels of Heavy Metals in Lipsticks Commonly and Commercially Available in Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

This research was carried-out to assess the levels of heavy metals (Hg, As, Cd, Sb and Pb) concentration in selected lipsticks commonly and  commercially available in Benin city, Nigeria. Ten (10) different brands of lipstick (5 each) were randomly selected across the four (04) local  government areas that made up Benin city. The samples were ground and mixed to form a composite sample of each brand, digested and analyzed  using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (ASS). The analyses were done in triplicates and the mean concentration of arsenic were determined to  be in the range of 4.90 – 369.85μg/g, mercury in the range of range of 4.99 – 60.42μg/g, antimony 4.94 – 20.39μg/g, cadmium 8.44 – 95.50 μg/g,  and lead in the range of 33.17 – 69.33 μg/g. The metals concentration obtained were found be above the permissible limits set by WHO and USFDA.  The results showed that the continuous use of these lipsticks brands poses a risk to the health of the users. Hence, stringent measures needs to be  adopted during manufacturing to avoid the presence of these toxic metals as impurities and also, government regulations needs to be put in place  to monitor the quality of lipsticks imported into the country.