Halloween safety: Children's face paint could contain toxins

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Around Halloween, many parents worry about trick-or-treating safety, sugar crashes, and ruined bedtimes. But here's something you might not be thinking about but should be -- toxic ingredients in your kids' face paints and powders.

Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead were found in Halloween face paint kits as part of a 2016 investigation by The Breast Cancer Fund. And in 2020, the Environmental Working Group found asbestos in a toy makeup kit.

"Even small exposures to these toxins are dangerous. Lead affects brain development, asbestos is a carcinogen, and cadmium is an endocrine disruptor linked to certain cancers and other health problems," said Lauren Kirchner of Consumer Reports.

Make-up and cosmetics are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. So how do these dangerous toxins make it onto store shelves?

"Unlike its oversight of food and drugs, the FDA has very little power to regulate the safety of cosmetic ingredients. The agency surveys products that are already on the market, but it does not approve their safety beforehand," she said.

If kids insist on using face paints and powders, avoid ones with the darkest pigments, as The Breast Cancer Fund study found those contain a higher concentration of heavy metals.

CR says your best bet might be to skip the store-bought stuff altogether. There are lots of DIY make-up recipes online that use face moisturizer, cornstarch and natural coloring so you know exactly what's on your child's skin.

Now to costumes, watch if they are puffy and bulky a child's car seat harness might not fit correctly over it, which means they may not have the maximum protection in the event of a crash. To avoid that, change your little ones into their costumes after the car ride.

Also, beware that children are more than twice as likely to be hit and killed by a car on Halloween as on any other day of the year. Avoid masks that block vision, give them glow sticks and add reflective tape to their costumes and bags.

And if you're driving on Halloween, remember to take it extra slow and always watch for kids as you enter and exit driveways and alleys.