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Q. I've been using a Grecian Formula for my graying hair for years. It has lead acetate in it. I checked the FDA website. They say they tested it and approved it. The lead has me a bit concerned. Any thoughts?
A. The FDA does no testing of its own but did approve lead acetate as a "progressive" hair dye. That means it gradually darkens hair with repeated use.
The FDA concluded in 2002 that according to safety tests it received, "No significant increase in blood levels of lead was seen in the trial subjects and the lead was not shown to be absorbed into the body through such use."
Despite this reassurance, questions remain about the safety of lead-containing hair dyes. Canadian and European Union health authorities have banned lead from hair dyes and personal care products.
A study published in the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association (Jan/Feb, 1997) revealed that some lead residue is left on hands even after washing. Rubbing hands through hair may contaminate hands again.
The researchers noted that, "Given the requirement to continually reapply these hair coloring agents, the user becomes a living purveyor of lead contamination."
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The reassurance given by FDA is not reassuring at all. As researchers have demonstrated, lead acetate is readily absorbed through the skin and partitions into extracellular fluid showing up in sweat and saliva, and at barely detectable levels in the blood. Thus, the blood lead levels used by the FDA are the wrong endpoint to measure for lead absorbed through the skin, and their conclusions are based on inappropriate safety tests.
Dang! You've done it to me again: forced me to acknowledge my own common-sense reservations about the lead in Grecian formula. I've used it for several years, resisting the natural greying of my hair. It is simple vanity on my part: I want to be (or at least appear to be) young forever. While I continue to use the stuff (and I probably will) I think I'll stop sneering at people who get boob implants and face lifts and collagen injections and and and...
What is the chemical name for lead acetate? Do ALL hair dyes contain it?
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY: LEAD ACETATE IS THE CHEMICAL NAME. ONLY "PROGRESSIVE" HAIR DYES CONTAIN IT. MOST OF THESE ARE MARKETED TO MEN RATHER THAN WOMEN.
For The poster "HM": please travel to Wash. DC, go to the headquarters of the FDA, speak to those idiots at the FDA very concisely and slowly so they will be able to understand human speech and inform them that they are allowing those people who use products w/lead to act as guinea pigs.
And later, after it is proven no lead is safe, the FDA will whisper "Whoops".
I don't know if dye for my hair had lead in it. I colored my hair for at least 10 years when I developed interstitial cystitis. this became severe as I passed through menopause. When I was about 60, I felt strongly that I should stop using the dye. My IC decreased over time and is rarely a problem. I have heard that women who dye their hair have an increased incidence in bladder CA.
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: ONLY "PROGRESSIVE" HAIR DYES THAT ARE APPLIED EVERY DAY OR TWO CONTAIN LEAD ACETATE. BUT WE ARE GLAD TO LEARN THAT STOPPING THE USE OF DYE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH LESS TROUBLE FROM IC.
I finally have more info regarding my hair dye. It contains toluylendiamin, resorcin and hydrogen peroxide. Are the first two chemicals harmful over a longer period of time? Could they cause cancer? THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT WEB PAGE!!