Important Update About Neon Paints

Yeah! This post contains some good news of changes companies have been making to clear up the neon situation, and we even found out that DFX, and most likely the other brands, have an ingredient list that didn’t fully explain the Formaldehyde breakdown in a way that was clear, and it was open for misinterpretation.

In fact, according to TAG, the levels of “Free Formaldehyde” ( which is the FDA’s concern) is lower than that limit! Yes folks! We can get that F word out of our search engines! The high level was a compound that contained Formaldehyde embedded in it, but not pure free formaldehyde.

No company had a clear understanding at their fingertips about the formaldehyde in their paints. DFX did not see that their was a difference, like TAG finally did.  From what I know now, Formaldehyde is not the concern for TAG, and probably not for the other brands.

So what is the ingredient that the FDA hasn’t approved in the regular neons? According to TAG, certain neon pigments, and that is it. We were worried that the formaldehyde made these pigments the problems but it is just the colors themselves that haven’t been approved as safe.

These pigments would need to be sent from the factory that produces them to the FDA for testing. The FDA would then determine if they were safe or unsafe for use in cosmetics. This process has not occurred, so we do not know if they are safe or unsafe for cosmetics.

That is a little better (there is a chance that  they are safe), but legally we are still in the same boat when using them on the public.

Kryolan has been selling these paints for decades, and I wonder why the factories that produce the Pigments haven’t gotten them tested?  Is the money really the issue, or is it the fact that face painters just keep using them with out demanding the testing be done first?

We got a ton of positive responses to the blog. Many people didn’t know what the labels meant, and though we had an error, the fact still remains that they are not for cosmetic use, according to the FDA, and that means that they are not intended to be used on skin.

I am really sad that some people thought this was just a scare, and did not get that the main point is that many face painters have ordered paints, and been left in shock and confusion because they get these regular neon paints with warnings that basically say “You just bought something that really isn’t facepaint” Shouldn’t we know this before we buy them, shouldn’t the companies really tell us the whole story so that we can make the best decisions for ourselves? Shouldn’t the manufacturers and vendors have a clear understanding about what they are selling?

As you can see, I didn’t have a clear understanding (but I did have a warning for a year straight once a customer made a point of it), even after sending numerous annoying e-mails asking for help. I am very proud of TAG for doing the research needed and addressing this situation right away. I expect that the publishing of the blog post helped get the attention, and though we did have an error in our post about the level of free formaldehyde, we finally got some action towards better labels and hopefully more stores posting the warnings.

I also see that DFX understands that the proper labeling is important to a lot of face painters, and clarity in warnings is also important.  They are working on new consistent labels and a clearer post on their site. I also am proud that DFX took the time and effort to create some safe neons for us to use for black light events.

If you really want those neon pigments tested, please let your manufacturers know in whatever way you think will work.

If you want to make sure that you are not liable for using them in the U.S., call your insurance company and tell them WHAT THE LABELS SAY (or should say if they were mislabeled), and see what they say then.

If you know that you are using  products that haven’t been determined safe or unsafe by the FDA, you can put on the pressure so that maybe one day you can use the neon colors with total confidence.

I hope you understand that we called the FDA, companies in charge of designing FDA compliant labels, companies that deal with the paints before they get to the manufacturers, lawyers, and we read all that we could handle in a 6 month period of time. We did not just post the blog to scare people, we sell the paints too, for heaven’s sake. We just wanted to make sure we were selling something safe, and we wanted to be able to answer our customers questions about where they could use the paints. We’ve gotten so many mixed answers from manufacturers, that we felt we needed to look into it more closely.  We have no right, or need to claim what you should choose to do with the information. And we really truly apologize for posting an error in the blog, but we did give our best effort and finally we got a clear response!

Thank you to everyone for getting involved in this discussion. I still feel that it is one worth having until the situation is totally resolved.

(This does not having anything to do with the DFX NEON WHITE, VIOLET AND BLUE which DFX took a great move and found out how to make them using only FDA approved ingredients, however they are not bright under regular light, which is what most face painters are looking for. )