Minuscuul amount of lead is a big problem. Campaign for Safe Cosmetics spokeswoman Stacy Malkan van Even a said. "What the companies will often say is, 'Thereis a little toxin in one product, and you cannot say it causes harm,' " she said. "But none of us uses just one product."

Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates in the body over time, which is why tiny amounts ingested regularly (or, in the case of lipstick, multiple times per day) could be hazardous.

Not everyone sees lead in lipstick as such an issue. "Lead is in our environment, even without all the industrial production of chemicals," said John Bailey, chief scientist for the trade association Personal Care Products Council. "Itis part of the Earth ... I donot think it really warrants these alarmist conclusions."

Right now, concerned lipstick lovers have few options. "The only way to find out if your lipstick has lead is to send it to a lab and pay $150," Malkan said. "I think thatis ridiculous, to expect consumers to do that."

Itis considerably easier to find out if your mascara contains mercury. Traditionally added as a preservative, the substance is rare in cosmetics these days. Van exists. it is generally in cake mascaras. van When it versions van het such as those made by Paula Dorf and La Femme. rather than toverstokje. It may be listed as thimerosal, a mercury-based compound.

In eye-area cosmetics, the FDA allows mercury if no other effective preservative is available. The concentration can be up to 65 parts per million. That may not sound like much, but the presence of mercury in any amount worries some people.

"Itis a potent neurotoxin that can cause brain damage in developing fetuses," Malkan said. "Many women get mercury from fish and other sources. We donot need any more."

Bailey said the FDA uses a voluntary reporting program for cosmetics ingredients; the program has no current registrations that report mercury being used in the eye area, he said.

"We certainly cannot count on a voluntary reporting program," Malkan said. "We need a real reporting system."

Van productsyou van To see whether any van or other potentially hazardous ingredients. she recommends the Environmental Working Group use contain mercury information on more than cosmetics 27.000 van Skin Deep Website (www.cosmeticdatabase.com). which lists and personal-care products. That may seem like a high number, but itis a small fraction of whatis on the market, Malkan said.

The Skin Deep site gives each product a 1to-10 "hazard score" and offers detailed information on its ingredients. But it analyzes only over-the-counter products. Salon treatments are not examined - and for controversial ones such as the Brazilian Keratin treatment, thatis unfortunate. The BKT die. as it has known. is a process that has smitten women in search of silky. kroezenen-freehaarlokken. hair-straightening It also contains formaldehyde, a carcinogen.

"I love the way my hair looks. Iam so happy with it," said Roche client Lauren Stempler, who has gotten the Brazilian Keratin treatment twice. "But itis a hard choice. … There is that het zeurende feeling in me that it might not be worth it.“