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Toxins Make Halloween Face Paints Scary
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Earlier this year, a face paint from China was recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when some children had rashes and itching; the FDA later found microbial contamination in the product.
Malkan says more oversight is needed by the FDA to regulate products, including face paints. Cosmetic products and ingredients are not subject to premarket approval by the FDA, except color additives. Recalls of cosmetics are done voluntarily by manufacturers or distributors if products are found hazardous or deceptive; the FDA can take regulatory action through the federal court system. But this level of oversight is not strong enough, Malkan and others believe.
Representatives of the cosmetics industry took issue with the report.
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"Although the report does not identify the specific color ingredients in the products tested, the trace levels of naturally occurring heavy metals reportedly found in the products are well below the allowable levels set by FDA for approved colors as not presenting a safety concern," John Bailey, chief scientist at the Personal Care Products Council, said in a news release. He believes that if parents follow label directions and check for allergic reactions in advance, face paints can be used "without unnecessary worry about the safety of these novelty products."
Using the face paint just once a year "is probably not going to do anything at all [healthwise]," contended Dr. Dennis Woo, former chair of pediatrics at Santa Monica-UCLA and Orthopaedic Hospital, Santa Monica, Calif., who reviewed the report. But he said he is surprised by the amounts of heavy metals found in the face paints. "We should start looking at this stuff. There's no reason these heavy metals need to be in cosmetics."
His colleague, Dr. Wally Ghurabi, chief of emergency services, Santa Monica-UCLA and Orthopaedic Hospital, believes that even once-a-year use of the face paints may not be worth it. "Concerned parents should skip it," he said. If those who apply the paints aren't careful, he said, and get the paint too close to the eyes or nose, that could be potentially harmful.
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Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 10/29/2009
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SOURCES: Stacy Malkan, co-founder, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and co-author, Pretty Scary: Could Halloween Face Paint Cause Lifelong Health Problems? Oct. 27, 2009, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics; Jessa Blades, natural makeup artist and green living expert, New York City; Wally Ghurabi, D.O., chief of emergency services, Santa Monica--UCLA and Orthopaedic Hospital, Santa Monica, Calif.; Dennis Woo, M.D., former chief of pediatrics, Santa Monica--UCLA and Orthopaedic Hospital, Santa Monica, Calif., and associate professor, pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; statement, Oct. 27, 2009, Personal Care Products Council
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