IS YOUR lipstick exposing you to unnecessary amounts of lead?

A recent study by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that 400 different lipstick types - including brand names like L'Oreal, Covergirl and NARS - tested positive for the substance.

The average amount of lead found in the 400 lipsticks was 1.11 parts per million, with L'Oreal's "Color Sensational" Pink Petal testing at a high of 7.19 parts per million.

By comparison, children's products sold in the US are forbidden to have more than 100 parts per million of lead.

The FDA says there is no cause for alarm. "Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities," FDA said in its report.

"The lead levels we found are within the limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick."

Still, non-profit group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics wants the FDA to set a limit for how much lead lipstick can contain and to study whether there are any dangers to having the substance applied to human lips, particularly the lips of children and pregnant women.

"Recognising that there is no safe level of lead exposure, we need to be protecting women and children from all levels of exposure," said Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the campaign - a non-profit coalition of environmental- and cancer-prevention groups.

Find out which are the 10 lipsticks with the most amount of lead:

Also read: Could your Valentine's kiss give you lead poisoning?