FAQ on Day Glow and UV face paints

Day Glow & UV Pigments in Cosmetics...

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I'll start off by stating that the issue with the so called "Day Glow" and "UV" face paints are a controversial issue. It is something that comes up over and over on the discussion list for face painters. I thought that I'd take the time to address this issue from a FDA perspective. Yes I am very aware that there are several brands of "name brand" face paints that openly market their day glow and UV paints. However, the bottom line is many of pigments used in these products SIMPLY DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE FDA as approved. If you look closely at the labels you with see a labeling that states "for hair or special effects" rather than FDA approved or "cosmetic". Legally they can not be approved as a cosmetic because they are using pigments that are not found in the list of approved cosmetic ingredients (see also http://www.snazaroo.us/safety.htm ). It is against the law to use these pigments in a cosmetic product in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Mexico. I'll also note that many countries, Germany for example, have much more lenient laws than the United States. What is approved there can often be banned as unsafe here in the United States. This FAQ is not to debate if one countries cosmetic laws are better or safer. Our point is in the United States market SNAZAROO takes the higher road. If it can not meet both the US and EU cosmetic laws then we will not offer the product. I know that when I use "the other brand" in their range of UV colors four out of the seven colors break me out. You choose for yourself as ultimately you will be the one held accountable when you get the angry call from the parent.

Yes, you will find many that have been using these products for face painting for years and years with no known side effects. Keep in mind that many people smoke all their lives and still don't get lung cancer. One, at times, has to take the high road and understand that the FDA (food and drug administration) might know a little more than we do about safety. There may be a point that someone comes up with the tens of thousands of dollars needed to do the safety testing but to date no one is willing to do this. SNAZAROO has always opted to avoid those products or ingredients that can not pass both the United States FDA as well as the European equivalent. These pigments are approved for use in cosmetics in countries such as Germany but they continue to be on the banned list of pigments by the USA, UK, Canada and Mexico. SNAZAROO would love to make these day glow and UV face paints available, but to date, we have opted to stand by the experts at the FDA. In December of 2005 the FDA did approve a range of UV pigments that are safe for use on the face. With those pigments we developed a range of four colors (red, pink, orange and yellow called the Cosmic range). To date we do not offer greens or blues because those pigments are not approved by the FDA.

I defer to an article by Christopher Dane, Chairman, Swada (London), titled "Fluorescent colour and cosmetics" link http://www.atalink.co.uk/csb2000/html/art_rawmats_swada.htm where he says simply that most fluorescent colors are not approved by the FDA. You will need to refer to the article and the link because we can not reprint more because it is a copyrighted article.

The bottom line is these pigments are not LEGALLY allowed to be used in any cosmetic product for the skin. The exception is the four colors noted above. Even then, there are defined limits on those pigments and they should avoid the use of color enhancers like formaldehyde which these other brands use. Formaldehyde is a know carcinogen. There is plenty of documentation on this on the internet. You do not have to take our word on it. Do the research yourself and you will find formaldehyde should not be used in cosmetic products. If you smell these other brands you can smell the slight odor of this color enhancing agent. Companies might skirt the issue by some deceptive labeling but the pigments simply are not approved for use in cosmetics. If you read in the volume two of "Face Painting International" (page 36-37), you will see an article written called "kool for nights" written by Wolfman Langer the president of KRYOLAN Corp. Int. (in regards to their day glow / UV line) he said, "The dye normally consists of safe substances, although they are not part of the recognized list of cosmetics. According to cosmetic regulations, only an approved list of pigments may be used in cosmetics for the skin. According to the definition a color cosmetic item is a product which is purposely applied to the human skin to create or change the color image. With Day Glow Colors, the dye is embedded in a resin and has no direct contact with the skin. Day Glow Colors are in this way considered as color pigments. However, none of the existing pigments IN THOSE FORMULAS has ever been officially approved for cosmetic purposes. The exception is, they are used as legal color additives in nail polish and hair sprays." The question I would pose to anyone is are you going to use these pigments on the nails or on the hair? If not the FDA has stated that they are not approved. According to the FDA you SHOULD NOT USE THEM ON SKIN. Be very careful with any brand of cosmetic you use and get the facts on the pigments that they use. Seek specifically for UV pigments that are approved for cosmetic use in the United States and the European Union. Also avoid any cosmetic product that contains formaldehyde. You would be personally liable should there be any allergic reaction or any other adverse reaction of any kind. You would be using these paints knowing that they use pigments banned by the FDA. You have no product liability since you use them on the skin versus the labeling stating "hair or special effects". Your own entertainer's insurance would also not protect you since you are using a product outside the labeling criteria.

I do think it is only a matter of time before we see these pigments (including green, blue and purple) thoroughly tested. We hope this is done soon. Because one has not seen an allergic or other reaction when using such pigments does not justify the rights to toss these ingredients into a cosmetic product. Until thorough testing has been done and the results published a reputable cosmetic company should avoid ANY pigment or ingredient that is not on the approved list of ingredients. I can assure you three things.... 1) if the pigments fail any testing we as a manufacturer will avoid them in our products, 2) if the pigments become officially approved we would work to offer fluorescent colors with the approved pigments and 3) until the pigments are documented as approved pigments for use in cosmetics we will assume that they should be avoided. I would challenge any company that uses these pigments to show documentation that the pigments are ACTUALLY APPROVED because we have done a lot of research in this matter and as of this date none are approved.

There is also the question of "glow in the dark" or phosphorescent pigments. These pigments were approved for use by the FDA in the United States (in 2000). To date they have been rejected, however by the European Union. For this reason SNAZAROO does not offer any glow in the dark products.

Our suggestion is to take the conservative side of the issue. If the ingredients are not found safe in both the USA and Europe then you should avoid them. Once approved, you receive a safe go ahead and you can be backed by the product liability of the manufactured (when used properly.)

In the comments above the underscore was added to highlight the key issues.

You choose for yourself what is best for you.

Gary Cole
SNAZAROO USA Inc.
gary@snazaroo.com