Metals Contamination in Face Powders and their Associated Health Risks to the Users in Mekelle, Ethiopia

The presence of heavy metals has been reported in cosmetics and their assessment in these products is of significantly important to protect the users. The objective of this study was to assess the levels of cadmium, lead and zinc in face powders and provide information on the risk associated with human exposure to these heavy metals in the products. The samples were pretreated using dry ashing technique and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The level of lead in face powders was below the detection limit while the concentrations of cadmium and zinc ranged from 0.13 to 0.215 mg/kg and not detected to 7.05 mg/kg, respectively. The systemic exposure dosage values for these metals in the products were below their respective provisional tolerable daily intake and/or recommended daily intake values. The margin of safety values were higher than 100 which exhibited that the concentrations of metals observed in these products do not cause substantial health risk to the users.