Kids Face Painting Not So Healthy.

So you are at a party with your kids and there is a face painting fairy hard at work turning a patiently sitting 5 year old girl into a beautiful butterfly. The queue is long and next in line is a 6 year old boy wanting his face to be painted up like spider-man. Seems like harmless fun right? Well think twice.

Kids Face Painting Sharing The Fun, Germs & Bacteria.

The photo that accompanies this article is one I personally took (in horror) at my friends daughters birthday party a couple years back. Thankfully my own daughter didn’t want a turn, as both she and my son has never liked having anything painted onto their faces, but I stood by and watched this less than clean, fairy hard at work and was quite frankly appalled. As a professional cruelty free, all natural, hair and makeup artist myself, I would never subject my clients to the plethora of bacteria that must have been sitting and breeding abundantly on all those moist brushes and paint pots.

I ask you all this question?

“Would any woman in her right mind have her makeup done by a makeup artist with a professional kit that looked this dirty? Would we be happy for a makeup artist to paint 10 faces before us and swish her brushes into some dirty water and then do our face? I think not!”

Virus’s, bacteria and molds thrive in warm, damp conditions, so face painting at public events and kids parties is also like a party for the germs.

Kids Face Paints Not So Non-Toxic.

Just because face paints are marketed as a kids product does not mean they are safe. Have a read of this Face Paint Recall.

Remember a label on a product stating it is NON-TOXIC means absolutely nothing. There is no government body regulating this statement. See me article Non-Toxic Labelling – What Does It Really Mean? Is It A Legal Requirement? It Is Regulated?

10 Face Paint Products Tested For Safety Fail!

The Campaign For Safe Cosmetic has this 36 page report on 10 different Face Paint products they tested for toxic ingredients.

All 10 face paint products contained Lead. THERE IS NO SAFE LEVELS FOR LEAD EXPOSURE!

Some of these face paints tested also contained the heavy metals, Cobalt, Chromium and Nickel. These metals cause contact dermatitis and skin reactions.

The ingredients in these face paints also contained a host of ingredients that are known carcinogens, immunotoxins and neurotoxins.

Some of these ingredients are banned in other countries outside the USA.

Some ingredients were not even FDA approved for use in cosmetics.

Five brands were made in China and the other 5 in the USA, UK & Spain.

Remember that the majority of face paint brands in Australia are imported.

Kids Face Painting Hygienically & Safely

So now you know about the hidden nasties lurking in kids face paints, but this does not mean your kids need to miss out on the delights of having their face painted.

Follow my Safe & Healthy Face Painting Tips here.