Face Paint is Scary?

Submitted by Meg Wilson on October 30, 2009 - 07:58.


We might want to think twice before applying a lot of face paint on our kids this Halloween.

Some children's face paints contain lead, a neurotoxin that can harm the brain at low doses, according to new product tests documented in a report from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of nonprofit health and environmental groups.

In some of the paints tested, the lab identified the heavy metals nickel, cobalt and chromium, which are skin allergens, even in products labeled "non-toxic" and "hypoallergenic."

Because these metals are not listed on product labels, parents shopping for Halloween makeup have no way of knowing which products are safe. The only way to know if a cosmetic product contains lead or other heavy metals is to test the product at a laboratory, which the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics did for this report at a cost of $270.00 per sample.

"Parents should not have to worry that face paint contains lead and other hazardous substances," said Lisa Archer, national coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast Cancer Fund and a co-author of the report, "Pretty Scary."

"Companies are not making the safest products possible for children, even though kids are particularly vulnerable to toxic exposures," Archer said.

"Parents are stunned when they learn that these products made for kids have lead and other toxics in them. We don't understand how our government is so lax, nor why the manufacturers are so negligent," said Joan Blades, co-founder of Moms Rising, a coalition member and national advocacy organization focused on family health and economic security.

See more about this here. Photo above is via weglet.


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( categories: Make-up )
This is pretty scary, huh?
Submitted by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (not verified) on November 2, 2009 - 20:46.

This is pretty scary, huh? Help us give the beauty industry a makeover, and demand regulation of all cosmetics - from face paint to lipstick to bubble bath to aftershave! Join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at www.safecosmetics.org!

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