Applying lipstick can harm your IQ

A new study involving 22 brands of lipstick found that 55 percent contained trace amounts of lead.

Underwriters Laboratories revealed that 12 of the lip products sampled tested positive for the toxic substance with the highest levels at 3.22 parts per million, the Daily Mail reported.

Commenting on the findings Dr Sean Palfrey, medical director for the Boston Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, warned that even low-level lead exposure poses a serious health risk and could affect mental health.

He told GMA, which commissioned the study: "What we know now is that even the lowest levels of lead can harm your IQ , your behavior, your ability to learn."

Many anti-lead activists also stress the need to shield children and pregnant women.

Dr Halyna Breslawec, chief scientist for the Personal Care Products Council, added: "If you were serious about the public health aspects of lead poisoning you would not be looking at lipstick."

"You would be looking at locations where children live. Do they live near hazardous waste dumps - are they chewing lead-containing paint fragments?" she said.

Currently there are no standards set by the Food and Drug Administration limiting levels in lipstick and it is up to manufacturers to decide on the safety tests performed.

Lead is not intentionally put in lipstick but many color additives are mineral-based and contain trace levels of lead naturally found in soil, water and air.