Doctors in New York City reported on a family—a mother and her three children—who were found to have high levels of lead in their blood. The report suggests this may be connected to their use of a traditional eye cosmetic called surma, which can sometimes contain lead. This is a single case report, which is a detailed story of what happened to these specific people. It is not a large study that can prove what causes lead poisoning in general.
The report did not describe any specific health problems the family experienced from the high lead levels. The main reason to be careful with this information is that it only shows an association, or a connection in time, between using the cosmetic and having high lead. It does not prove that the surma definitely caused the high lead levels, as other sources were not ruled out.
Readers should take from this that certain traditional cosmetics might be a potential source of lead exposure, which is dangerous, especially for children. If you use similar products, it may be wise to ask a doctor or health department about testing them for lead. However, this is just one family's experience, and more research would be needed to understand how common this risk might be.