DETERMINATION OF HEAVY ELEMENTS CONCENTRATIONS IN COSMETICS COMMONLY USED IN ARABIC REGIONS

Forty two samples of cosmetics including twenty one artificial cosmetics (makeup and skin care items) and twenty-one traditional cosmetics used particularly in Arabic regions were analyzed to determine theconcentrations ofPb, Cd, As, Hg, Ni, Co, Cr, Mo, Si, Sr and V. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission (ICP- OES)spectrometer were applied for elemental analysis. The outcome of this paper shows that lead and cadmium concentrations are so high in all kohl samples. The higher concentrations of arsenic were in hand cream samples imported from Israel (43.37 and 52.71 ppm), while the higher concentration of mercury is 585.16 ppm. The amounts of heavy elements that may be absorbed into the body from daily usage of lipsticks and kohl have been calculated.