BOO! or Boohoo? - Lead Found in Face Paint

Earlier this week, I was surprised to receive this article Pretty Scary: Heavy Metals in Face Paint from SafeCosmetics.org.  I immediately forwarded it to my older sister Kaso who has three young kids.  Good thing, turns out she was planning to use one of the products at a Halloween party Thursday for her homeschool group. 


It appears, SafeCosmetics.org tested 10 popular face paints from a local Halloween store and found 10 out of 10 contained low levels of lead.  Some also contained nickel, cobalt and chromium.  


Happy Halloween?  This is a veritable trick, no treat.  Lead is a neurotoxin which the CDC says has no safe level of exposure.  The other chemicals cause long-term skin issues.  Unfortunately, you will not find any of these ingredients listed on the package.  That's right, companies do not have to list all ingredients in personal care products or cosmetics.  In fact, on some packages, the label read "hypoallergenic."  Madness.



What's a ghoul to do?  You can review the full report to see which products they tested and how to make your own safe face paint going forward.  You can also follow their suggestions for driving legislative changes.  There are numerous choices to suit your comfort level.  What got me was the Appendix A table listing near and long-term side effects from lead exposure.


As you may recall from my letter to Oprah, I only recently learned from a Skin Deep seminar at UCSF this Fall that there is no federal legislation for cosmetics and personal care products (PCPs).  I shared this discovery on my Facebook page as well.  I received many emails and comments.  Seems none of you knew either!  Our responses were the same:  incredulous and angry.  I don't think anything has gotten me so spun up in a long time.  


Please, take a moment to check the safety level of your favorite products in the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database.  

Have a safe and fun Halloween!   Robbie's roasting chicken and we're going to carve Jack O Lanterns...Boo!