What is in your Face Paint this Halloween? Trick or Treat

Halloween is just around the corner, and the safety of your little pumpkins and monkeys is probably as much on your mind as it is on mine.

A bit of face paint can sure enhance a costume and bring a smile to the face of a child, but ingredients in some of those paints can be scarier than a haunted house.

Did you know that in October 2009, the organization “Campaign for Safe Cosmetics” released a report on children’s face paints entitled “Pretty Scary” (available online at http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=584)?

After sending 10 popular brands of face paints to an independent lab for testing, the Campaign found that each of the paints contained low levels of lead, and six out the ten paints had traces of at least one of either nickel, chromium, or cobalt. Health Canada has recognized “that absorption of even very low levels of lead into the blood may have harmful health effects on the intellectual and behavioural development of infants and young children” (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/contaminants/lead-plomb/exposure-exposition-eng.php#a50), and nickel, chromium, and cadmium can cause skin irritation and rashes (http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=584). Eek.

There’s no need to worry that your little ones will have to go bare faced this Halloween though.

Ape 2 Zebra Toys offers two safer alternatives to more conventionally available face paints.

Lyra’s “Skin Color Pencils Basic Assortment for Face Painting” ($18.99) is a set of six face pencils that are made in Germany with materials and processes that meet food safety standards, and exceed strict toy safety standard EN 71 for toys. They’re a bit like pencil crayons for your face, and don’t even need to be dipped in water to use: just take them out of the box and start drawing. They are water soluble too, so they should wash off easily at the end of the night with just a little bit of soap, water, and a washcloth.

Each box contains white, yellow, red, blue, green, and black, and sells for $18.99.


If you prefer using a paintbrush to pencil crayons, the Lyra “Super Aqua Basic Assortment” of make up for skin/face painting is the perfect choice.

Like the Skin Colour Pencils, the make-up is made with materials and processes that meet food safety standards and exceed safety standard EN 71 for toys, and it is water soluble for easier removal.

The set includes six pots of make-up in white, yellow, red, blue, green, and black, as well as a brush, a sponge, and a detailed application manual. The retail price is $35.99.


If you submit your order by the end of this week, your product should arrive in time for Halloween trick-or-treating!


While your little ones are waiting for the day to come, Theodore suggests keeping them busy with this fun little song:

I’m a Little Pumpkin
(sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot” and complete with actions if you’d like):

I’m a little pumpkin, orange and round

(Action: have kids make a circle in front of themselves with their arms)

In the farmer’s field is where I’m found

(Action: have kids put one hand on their brow as if shielding their eyes from the sun to look for something)

At October’s ending, I’ll smile bright

(Action: Have kids make big, silly smiles)

Just scoop and carve me and add a light!

(Action: have kids mimic scooping, then draw a triangle in the air to imitate carving, and flash both hands open on “light”).

Theodore thinks they also might enjoy this classic children’s poem:

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late."

The second one said, "There are witches in the air."

The third one said, "But I don't care!"

The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."

The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"

Whoo-ooo went the wind,

Out went the light,

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

(Author Unknown)

Happily (and safely) yours,

Orson Ape