I am not a fan of that slimy, gooey Halloween face paint that parents have used for years. Last year, my daughter wanted to be a vampire Queen and my son a zombie skeleton. Instead of buying pasty white face paint for my daughter, I went and purchased a silvery-white eye shadow from Whole Foods and covered her face in that. I then used red lipstick for the “blood effect.” To top off the look, I added charcoal eye shadow around her eyes and on her eyebrow. This ended up being a great alternative to traditional Halloween face paint.
With my son, I used dark green and charcoal colored eye shadow. First I put some lotion on his face and neck and while it was still wet, I dusted his face with the eye shadow. I then rubbed it in to give it a more smudged look. I have to admit that he wasn’t very keen on the idea of putting on “girl makeup” and would have been just fine with the traditional Halloween face paint but with his sensitive skin, I wasn’t risking it.
In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers to stop using a product sold by Oriental Trading Company and issued a face paint recall. A group of girl scouts had gathered at a celebration and there was a face painter on hand. At the end of the day, the girls broke out in a rash with swelling and burning. Further testing revealed, “significant microbial contamination was indicated in most of the products.”
The FDA actually offers some guidelines for individuals that are planning to use Halloween face paint:
- Don’t use makeup with a very bad smell, it could indicate contamination
- Using products near your eyes can cause irritation, even if the products indicate that they can be used near your eyes
- Test the product on a small patch of skin in advance to see if you may have an allergic reaction to the novelty makeup
These are just half of the guidelines that the FDA suggests parents follow when applying novelty Halloween makeup on their children. While guidelines are nice, if a simple product requires that many guidelines then I’m all for skipping it.
While traditional makeup may be more expensive than Halloween makeup, your kids only have one body so you have to help them take care of it. To help you prepare for your alternative to Halloween face paint shopping, check out the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.
What do you do for Halloween makeup? Do you have an alternative to face paint that you’d like to share?
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Bacterial infection from halloween makeup sounds really scary. You’ve given some great alternatives for traditional make-up. I think it’s important for all parents to pay attention to this.
I use my own make up on my kids, too, when they need to get in character.
Wonderful post! And, like you mention, the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database is always a great resource.
Great post! I’ve used ‘girl make up’ at Halloween for years. I hate the way face paint feels on your skin!
MOST HALLOWEEN MAKE UP PURCHASE AT THE STORES CONTAIN PARABENS. THIS IS VERY BAD FOR ANYONE FACE OR BODY. I’M STILL ON A SEARCH FOR SOME REAL NATURAL FACE PAINTES THAT LAST.
I ORDERED SOME EXPENSIVE FACE PAINTS FROM AUSTRALIA & THEY WIPE RIGHT OFF. SO THE QUEST IS ON. JUST BEWARE OF ALL THE STRANGE INGREDIENTS. NO GOOD!!!!!