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Kajal deadly beauty
salaam
I'm posting this from my JE since this is an important public health hazard that exits in many of our own homes:
I submitted the following edits to wikipedia (I focused more on getting the facts than on my writing style -- the more I read, the more scary it was..and I just wanted to submit an edit ASAP):
Kajal, also known as khol or surma, is widely used throughout the Middle East and South Asian countries. Though it is considered a harmless, "natural" cosmetic, it is a serious public health concern in these regions. Several studies have linked kajal use in babies to infant death from lead poisoning.
Studies have found both commercial and non-commercial preparations of kajal/surma to contain high levels of contaminants including lead. Lead levels in commercial kajal preparations have been as high as 84%. Kajal has been linked to lead poisoning and lead intoxication. Complications of these conditions include anemia, growth retardation, low IQ, convulsions, and even death. Anemia from lead poisoning is of special concern in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries where other forms of anemia are prevalent -- including iron deficiency anemia (from malnutrition) and genetic causes (sickle cell, thalassemia).
Kajal samples from India and Arab countries, analysed using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), have found the following substances: galena (PbS), amorphous carbon, zincite (ZnO), sassolite (H(3)BO(3)) or calcite/aragonite (CaCO(3)), cuprite (Cu(2)O), goethite (FeO(OH)), elemental silicon or talc (Mg(3)Si(4)O(10)(OH)(2)), hematite (Fe2O3), minium (Pb3O4), magnetite (Fe3O4).
New concern has arisen as these cosmetics are being imported and sold in Western countries as well.
Note:
I have to thank Zabbasi for asking in my last JE if mascara was the same as kajal. I did a google search to get him links for mascara and kajal and ended up on a Wikipedia site. I found an entry that lauded the benefits of kajal as "improving eyesight for babies". Now I'm a fan of herbal remedies myself (I always make myself my grandmother's herbal tea when I get a cold). But I mostly think of it as a "placebo" that may or may not have any real medicinal qualities. I will admit to getting bugged by people who swear by what amounts to old wives tales.
Besides, kajal is made from the soot of an oil lamp -- why would anyone think that is a good thing to put on eyes?
So I wanted to see what "evidence" existed regarding kajal (sure, studies have their flaws -- that is why they need to be repeated several times before you believe their results). And what I found was very, very scary.
Please, if anyone you know uses kajal -- forward this to them. Even commericially produced kajal has high lead content.
*********************************** *************************
References:
(all references were found via pubmed.com)
Nir A, Tamir A, Zelnik N, Iancu TC., Isr J Med Sci. 1992 Jul;28(7):417-21. Is eye cosmetic a source of lead poisoning?
Abdullah MA., J Trop Med Hyg. 1984 Apr;87(2):67-70. Lead poisoning among children in Saudi Arabia.
Shaltout A, Yaish SA, Fernando N., Ann Trop Paediatr. 1981 Dec;1(4):209-15. Lead encephalopathy in infants in Kuwait. A study of 20 infants with particular reference to clinical presentation and source of lead poisoning.
Hardy A, Walton R, Vaishnav R., Int J Environ Health Res. 2004 Feb;14(1):83-91. Composition of eye cosmetics (kohls) used in Cairo.
Al-Ashban RM, Aslam M, Shah AH., Public Health. 2004 Jun;118(4):292-8. Kohl (surma): a toxic traditional eye cosmetic study in Saudi Arabia.
Hardy AD, Vaishnav R, Al-Kharusi SS, Sutherland HH, Worthing MA., J Ethnopharmacol. 1998 Apr;60(3):223-34. Composition of eye cosmetics (kohls) used in Oman.
al-Hazzaa SA, Krahn PM., Int Ophthalmol. 1995;19(2):83-8. Kohl: a hazardous eyeliner.
Parry C, Eaton J. , Environ Health Perspect. 1991 Aug;94:121-3. Kohl: a lead-hazardous eye makeup from the Third World to the First World.
Hardy AD, Walton RI, Myers KA, Vaishnav R., J Cosmet Sci. 2006 Mar-Apr;57(2):107-25. Availability and chemical composition of traditional eye cosmetics ("kohls") used in the United Arab Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Ras Al-Khaimah, and Fujairah.
*********************************** ************************
Update
After posting this article, I found a link to the FDA warning about this..which actually reads very similarly to my own contribution to Wikipedia (Umber pats herself on the back). Considering that is the job I ultimately imagine for myself..I guess I'm in good shape, insha-allah. :)
www.cfsan.fda.gov
I'm posting this from my JE since this is an important public health hazard that exits in many of our own homes:
I submitted the following edits to wikipedia (I focused more on getting the facts than on my writing style -- the more I read, the more scary it was..and I just wanted to submit an edit ASAP):
Kajal, also known as khol or surma, is widely used throughout the Middle East and South Asian countries. Though it is considered a harmless, "natural" cosmetic, it is a serious public health concern in these regions. Several studies have linked kajal use in babies to infant death from lead poisoning.
Studies have found both commercial and non-commercial preparations of kajal/surma to contain high levels of contaminants including lead. Lead levels in commercial kajal preparations have been as high as 84%. Kajal has been linked to lead poisoning and lead intoxication. Complications of these conditions include anemia, growth retardation, low IQ, convulsions, and even death. Anemia from lead poisoning is of special concern in Middle Eastern and South Asian countries where other forms of anemia are prevalent -- including iron deficiency anemia (from malnutrition) and genetic causes (sickle cell, thalassemia).
Kajal samples from India and Arab countries, analysed using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), have found the following substances: galena (PbS), amorphous carbon, zincite (ZnO), sassolite (H(3)BO(3)) or calcite/aragonite (CaCO(3)), cuprite (Cu(2)O), goethite (FeO(OH)), elemental silicon or talc (Mg(3)Si(4)O(10)(OH)(2)), hematite (Fe2O3), minium (Pb3O4), magnetite (Fe3O4).
New concern has arisen as these cosmetics are being imported and sold in Western countries as well.
Note:
I have to thank Zabbasi for asking in my last JE if mascara was the same as kajal. I did a google search to get him links for mascara and kajal and ended up on a Wikipedia site. I found an entry that lauded the benefits of kajal as "improving eyesight for babies". Now I'm a fan of herbal remedies myself (I always make myself my grandmother's herbal tea when I get a cold). But I mostly think of it as a "placebo" that may or may not have any real medicinal qualities. I will admit to getting bugged by people who swear by what amounts to old wives tales.
Besides, kajal is made from the soot of an oil lamp -- why would anyone think that is a good thing to put on eyes?
So I wanted to see what "evidence" existed regarding kajal (sure, studies have their flaws -- that is why they need to be repeated several times before you believe their results). And what I found was very, very scary.
Please, if anyone you know uses kajal -- forward this to them. Even commericially produced kajal has high lead content.
*********************************** *************************
References:
(all references were found via pubmed.com)
Nir A, Tamir A, Zelnik N, Iancu TC., Isr J Med Sci. 1992 Jul;28(7):417-21. Is eye cosmetic a source of lead poisoning?
Abdullah MA., J Trop Med Hyg. 1984 Apr;87(2):67-70. Lead poisoning among children in Saudi Arabia.
Shaltout A, Yaish SA, Fernando N., Ann Trop Paediatr. 1981 Dec;1(4):209-15. Lead encephalopathy in infants in Kuwait. A study of 20 infants with particular reference to clinical presentation and source of lead poisoning.
Hardy A, Walton R, Vaishnav R., Int J Environ Health Res. 2004 Feb;14(1):83-91. Composition of eye cosmetics (kohls) used in Cairo.
Al-Ashban RM, Aslam M, Shah AH., Public Health. 2004 Jun;118(4):292-8. Kohl (surma): a toxic traditional eye cosmetic study in Saudi Arabia.
Hardy AD, Vaishnav R, Al-Kharusi SS, Sutherland HH, Worthing MA., J Ethnopharmacol. 1998 Apr;60(3):223-34. Composition of eye cosmetics (kohls) used in Oman.
al-Hazzaa SA, Krahn PM., Int Ophthalmol. 1995;19(2):83-8. Kohl: a hazardous eyeliner.
Parry C, Eaton J. , Environ Health Perspect. 1991 Aug;94:121-3. Kohl: a lead-hazardous eye makeup from the Third World to the First World.
Hardy AD, Walton RI, Myers KA, Vaishnav R., J Cosmet Sci. 2006 Mar-Apr;57(2):107-25. Availability and chemical composition of traditional eye cosmetics ("kohls") used in the United Arab Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Ras Al-Khaimah, and Fujairah.
*********************************** ************************
Update
After posting this article, I found a link to the FDA warning about this..which actually reads very similarly to my own contribution to Wikipedia (Umber pats herself on the back). Considering that is the job I ultimately imagine for myself..I guess I'm in good shape, insha-allah. :)
www.cfsan.fda.gov
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