Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of US-based non-profit health and environmental groups just released a report regarding contamination of Halloween face paints by heavy metals. Although the CDC recommends against using cosmetics which contain lead on children, there’s no way of telling whether the paints contain toxic metals since they are not required to be listed on product labels (there is no legal requirement to list them because they’re considered contaminants, not ingredients). The group looked at 10 children’s face paint brands and found:
- 10 out of 10 children’s face paints contained lead at levels between 0.05 and 0.65 parts per million (ppm).
- 6 out of 10 children’s face paints contained nickel, cobalt and/or chromium at levels between 1.6 to 120 ppm (this is much higher than the industry safety standard of 1 ppm said the report). These metals can be allergens in children.
- Snazaroo Face Paint contained some of the highest levels of lead, nickel and cobalt found in the study. This product carries the words “non-toxic” and “hypoallergenic” on its label.
Continue reading at Medical News Today.
Share your comments here.
Tags: Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, chromium, cobalt, cosmetics, face paint, Halloween, heavy metals, lead, nickel, toxic
Follow us on Twitter
Become a fan on Facebook
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I think that face paint should be used at a minimum if there are concerns that the public could be exposed to any carcinogenic substance contained and could cause any type of cancer. Any type of product like a type of pain should have warnings and the media is doing what they can to inform. It’s not just a company’s job, it’s the public’s right to be informed.
Brian in Newfoundland.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Is it a company’s job to disclose that there’s potential harm in trace compounds found in their products, or should the government be more stringent in their requirements for disclosure and public safety?
October 30th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Dr. Chang,
For some reason there appears to be no contact info for you on this website, so I am contacting you via the comments box hrere. I notice that you have an extensive section dealing with the Zone Diet and recipes for it. I would like to invite you and your followers to visit my brand new interactive healthy cooking website http://www.aDoctorsKitchen.com which I launched just last week. I am a physician and food writer, and former consultant to Dr. Barry Sears, inventore of the Zone Diet. The recipes on my website are all Zone friendly. In addition, there aqre lots of videos and voicethreads demonstrating techniques for healthier cooking– including clever ways to decrease total fat, saturated fat, and calories. I emphasize low glycemic index carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats in all of my recipes. The recipes are excellent and the videos and voicethreads are, I hope, entertaining and informative. Sincerely, Deborah CHud, MD Food Columnist Radius Magazine and Author of The Gourmet Prescription. (Radius is a national lifestyle quarterly devoted to health and wellness that circulates to 100,000 physicians and waiting rooms throughout the country.
November 15th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
i have a discolored skin,so what can i use to get my normal skin back.and to stop it from getting worst. please help..
THANK YOU
BRENDA LEMAIGRE.
————————————————————————————————————————-
March 19th, 2010 at 10:30 am
yummmmy:P thanks to your ideas , i’d adore to follow your weblog as frequently as i can.have a great day~~