Face Doctor

Face Painting YOUR little elf for HALLOWEEN

Boo! Am I scared? Well, I think it's scary that it's almost that time of year when all our little ghosts, goblins and princesses will be in the streets. As parents of young children, we have a choice for our children's Halloween and Trick-or-treating. One thing that remains constant from year to year is the wonder and joy of dressing up in costume! A growing trend nationwide as well as costumes homemade is the use of face paint to complete a costume. In fact, some costumes may not be otherwise. So what kind do you use? With all the recalls dealing with paint and increase

allergy cases, the painting is really safe? "

Unfortunately, the answer is not completely black and white. We humans have varying degrees of sensitivity to cosmetics and chemicals, can be seen in the mother can not wear certain moisturizers, children who can not use bubble bath and offices of all the perfumes ban because of severe allergies.

Craft Paint
Too often, well-meaning volunteers will face painting at carnivals local festivals or fairs with the craft of painting they have in the supply closet, with due consideration that it is "not toxic. However, there seems to be a misunderstanding of the term "non-toxic." Non-toxic means only that something will not kill you if you ingest it. (At least not right away.) This does not mean it has been approved for us in the face or body. Think of it this way a jalapeno is non-toxic, but you do not want to rub it on your face. Similarly, trade or acrylic paint may contain toxic chemicals such as polymers and potentially carcinogenic. When the reactions occur, they are most often raised painful blisters and rashes with itching, in rare instances the use of painting craft

can scar some types of skin and cause severe anaphylactic allergy resulting from airway inflammation.

Tempra Paint
Another questionable area is sometimes recommended mixed with tempra paint face lotion. And even if our children could be painted once or twice at home without side effects, Tempra is not approved by the FDA for use on the face. Of course, our concerns are appropriately increased when we are dealing with children who are more sensitive to toxins than adults.

Food coloring
Other receipts available on the Internet include a variety using food coloring. Web sites advertise it with food coloring mixed with glycerin, flour, corn syrup or cold cream. And while most of these ingredients are "safe food" you can not escape the fact that you apply food coloring to deal with your child - and possibly clothing, bedding and furniture. Any parent who has made a birthday cake or two can attest to the power of color food coloring!

Although the food coloring is perhaps the least toxic of this short list of colors, if you suspect that a rash was caused by a substance that you painted on your child, immediately wash the area with cold water and soap. Be careful - occasionally strong detergent soaps or even baby wipes can aggravate the problem. Then, try a lotion-the-counter Benadryl. If the problem persists, see your doctor without delay. In case of reaction to a product occurs, it will probably happen in the first fifteen minutes. This is true for children with sensitivities react to the cosmetics industry standard of quality are, and children who have been painted with craft paint.

As a mother and artist, I would never paint the body of my child, or child, with nothing less than top quality paint job, you may buy from online retailers or reputable select stores costumes. A list of water quality in the face of basic professional suppliers include: Snazaroo, Wolfe Brothers, Graftobian, Fantasy World Wide, Paradise.