Using face paints this Halloween?

Oct 30, 2009 11:48 AM

I can’t be the only parent who is engaged in the last-minute scramble to please the Great Pumpkin. I pulled orange Halloween storage boxes out of the attic last night and my kids and I dreamed about costumes far too complicated for the time we have left to make them. Then I read these items that came through our internal news alerts:

Recent findings by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that 10 out of 10 of the face paint products they sent to independent labs for testing contained low levels of the neurotoxin lead (there is no safe level of lead exposure for children). According to the report, 6 out of 10 of the face paints tested included nickel, cobalt and chromium, all of which may cause lifelong skin sensitization.
A Medill Report notes that despite FDA requests for recalls, cosmetics can stay on the market for months before being deemed too hazardous for production. To make matters worse, some products that pass cosmetic safety standards can expire while on the shelf. When a product expires its ingredients begin to deteriorate.

My day-before-Halloween take-away? I'm going to play it safe and invest in stage makeup, which may use better quality ingredients and be less likely to cause allergic reactions. Plus, I can’t remember the source or age of most of the makeup we had in storage. And if that fails, we'll opt for masks!

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