Asbestos found in kids' makeup product

A beauty product marketed to tweens has had to be taken off shelves after an investigation found it was contaminated with asbestos.

The worrying discovery was made after a shimmer powder sold at store Justice in the US, was analysed with horrific results.

“In this powder designed for children, they could die an untimely death in their 30s or 40s because of the exposure to asbestos in this product,” Sean Fitzgerald from the Scientific Analytical Institute told ABC 11 news.

"Fibres like this get into your breathing zone, and when you inhale, these fibres can get into the lung and go to the very bottom of the lung, and that is exactly where you have the greatest likelihood of asbestos to cause disease.

“Children should not be allowed to breathe it. If a 10-year-old inhaled this fibre today, when he's 50 years old, it's still there."

The asbestos fibres are believed to have come from the talc used as the base of the product, and were found in concentrations so high that they surprised the scientists analysing it.

Justice have said they are investigating the product and will no longer sell it, but it does raise some serious questions about what goes into cheap children’s makeup.

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