A recent press release by Senator Chuck Schumer has revealed that many widely-available face paints and makeup kits targeted at children contain unlisted, toxic ingredients including lead and other heavy metals. Even after consumer safety advocates raised the alarm in 2009, the FDA has taken no steps to crackdown on these dangerous products.
Six years ago, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 10 popular brands of face paint on store shelves -- and all 10 came back positive for lead, a heavy metal that can cause permanent health issues and brain damage in children. The CDC considers exposure to lead unsafe even in minute amounts. While lead is banned from cosmetics in Canada and Europe, it's still legal to include as an ingredient in the US.
Six of the samples also came back positive for other dangerous metals, including nickel, cobalt, and chromium. Nickel is a major contact allergen, leading to itchy rashes upon application or worse. Cobalt can also cause allergic reactions, but can also accumulate to toxic levels in the liver, kidney, pancreas, and heart through repeated exposure, leading to long-term health problems like cancer and asthma. Chromium exposure can cause skin reactions and respiratory problems as well, and in some forms is considered a carcinogen. The EU and a number of other nations around the world have already banned these ingredients in cosmetics.
To make matters even worse, many of the face paints containing these toxins and allergens are labeled "non-toxic" and "hypoallergenic," even though they are nothing of the sort. The problem is that there's no governing body that defines the meaning of those terms or enforces the ingredients included in cosmetics. In fact, many products that seem safe don't include these ingredients on the label at all.
No parent should be put in the position of accidentally exposing their child to these toxic ingredients. Sign the petition and demand the FDA ban these ingredients from cosmetics immediately!
