Sanitized paints?!?

jnjkoz wrote:Okay I am no chemist, but I will try very hard to explain this as best I can. I attended a conference a few years ago to learn more about face paints how they work and so on....One of the reasons I chose wolf efx paints exclusively, even as a newb, was because I learned there was a chemical in them called Sodium Benzoate. Sodium benzoate is a type of salt that may occur naturally in some foods but is more likely to be chemically produced and added as a preservative to foods. (in this case face paints that are approved by the FDA) The reason you will note sodium benzoate listed in the ingredients of so many foods is because it works very well at killing bacteria, yeast and fungi. You will most commonly see it used as a preservative in foods with a high acid content, since sodium benzoate will only work when the pH balance of foods is less than 3.6. It is therefore effective in most sodas, vinegar, fruit juice, and in mixed ingredients like salad dressing. It is additionally used to stop the fermentation process in wines.

I am attracted to this because if you look at the MSDS of the Wolfe paint, this is an ingredient in essence, my paints keep themselves clean chemically, in addition, they keep my brushes clean too. Now, this does NOT mean that I don't have to clean them, I still keep my kit, my brushes and my kit very clean, sanitized and fresh I do not welcome bacteria in, but I am assured that from one use to the next, I will not be t be growing unknown parasites, bacteria or virus in my paints.

If this applies to wolfe, does it also apply to DFX? I think that spritzing brushes with alcohol a couple of times a gig and wiping them w/ a wet wipe afterward would be just as effective as spraying directly on the paints, and this way you're not messing with the paints if you're worried about performance or warranty.

twobluestripes wrote:

jnjkoz wrote:Okay I am no chemist, but I will try very hard to explain this as best I can. I attended a conference a few years ago to learn more about face paints how they work and so on....One of the reasons I chose wolf efx paints exclusively, even as a newb, was because I learned there was a chemical in them called Sodium Benzoate. Sodium benzoate is a type of salt that may occur naturally in some foods but is more likely to be chemically produced and added as a preservative to foods. (in this case face paints that are approved by the FDA) The reason you will note sodium benzoate listed in the ingredients of so many foods is because it works very well at killing bacteria, yeast and fungi. You will most commonly see it used as a preservative in foods with a high acid content, since sodium benzoate will only work when the pH balance of foods is less than 3.6. It is therefore effective in most sodas, vinegar, fruit juice, and in mixed ingredients like salad dressing. It is additionally used to stop the fermentation process in wines.

I am attracted to this because if you look at the MSDS of the Wolfe paint, this is an ingredient in essence, my paints keep themselves clean chemically, in addition, they keep my brushes clean too. Now, this does NOT mean that I don't have to clean them, I still keep my kit, my brushes and my kit very clean, sanitized and fresh I do not welcome bacteria in, but I am assured that from one use to the next, I will not be t be growing unknown parasites, bacteria or virus in my paints.

If this applies to wolfe, does it also apply to DFX? I think that spritzing brushes with alcohol a couple of times a gig and wiping them w/ a wet wipe afterward would be just as effective as spraying directly on the paints, and this way you're not messing with the paints if you're worried about performance or warranty.

I have heard that the two are comparable, I however have not read the list of ingredients for DFX, I also have not seen the MSDS.

It may be listed on the website

If your at a party with say 15 kids and a choice of 4-5 faces how can you use a different sponge for each one (if all full faces) to avoid passing on germs? Wouldnt your sponge bag be bigger than your kit? Wouldnt it get confusing? or do you replace your sponges after each face? and if thats the case some designs require blending so could mean at least 2-3 sponges per face....I know Im waffiling a bit but I want to do the best I can in all aspects of health and saftey and some of the comments above while really interesting and informative are confusing me a little. Since I started face painting and as a mother of two Im well aware of the germs kids carry and have always believed in good old soap and water. I clean my brushes after every party/gig and I rinse my sponges in hot water first then I put them in the washing machine and before they go bag in A NEW bag I make sure they are completely dry. I also carry hand sanitiser and baby wipes to all events. I avoid snotty noses and kids with sores or dry skin conditions but mostly thier parents wouldnt bring them anyway. Common sense really! As for cleaning paints is a simple rinse under the tap not enough?

Im new to this forum as I just recently turned my hobbie into a buisness Im very excited but I also have my concerns so love reading all your questions and answers really enjoying it

Lori
From Scotland :-)

Alright, just found this thread...I'm from BC too. I'm not aware of 'strict' laws here in BC and I've never seen a health agent checking up on us at events. Have you Kristal? I don't think anyone in the world has so strict rules as Alberta. I just got back from a convention over there and let's just say I'm glad I'm in BC!

I follow 'common sense' and keep a clean kit. I use a new sponge for each client. I have two buckets. One with clean sponges and another to throw the used ones into. I have lots of sponges, but not every face needs a sponge so I rarely run out of sponges unless it goes overtime. You usually know how many faces you can do in an hour so bring enough for that.

Now about A Star...I know the event coordinator for the Cloverdale Rodeo and asked her about facepainting. She told me they had someone they always deal with. So I looked them up and can't say I'm impressed. It looks like they hire 'students' or anyone really that can hold a brush. Obviously someone good at marketing has established these corporate relationships. I'll be looking into it further. I'm thinking this is why there is such a low expectation on facepainting in the lower mainland if this is the work that's getting out there. Kristal and I are working hard to 'raise the bar' out West!

Bringing up an old thread

I am a bit perplexed at what I should do - yesterday I painted at my daughters playgroup (for free i might add) - I let the organiser know I dont paint sick kids for hygiene reasons and she was fine with that. I painted loads of kids - it was fun, and when it was over I was left in the room with a carer cleaning up. She mentioned to me that she was surprised I was even painting due to the hand foot and mouth doing the rounds at the moment!

This is the first I had heard of it, and during our chat she did mention the 4 kids were off sick with H F & M that day. Now I spoke to the organiser and she was surprised that I was concerned about contamination of my products...... um yeah of course I am, they have cost me a fortune!

I dont want to throw my precious paints - but I am not going to use them on anyone till I work out if any of those kids have had the virus or I can come up with a way of making sure the virus wont infect anyone from my paints. (brushes and sponges I can disinfect no problem but my paints?

help oh help me please!!!

by the way brands are tag and snaz

I am not sure about the H-F-M thing, that would make me angry too. Why are they at school if they have it? I think I would be thinking about taking my kid out. personally.

I just use common sense here. I clean my paints with baby wipes or wet ones. and I do this after every gig. I have ivory soap in my kit, and I swipe my brushes with it and have three rinse bins so the last one is clear, and I change them often. I have a lot of sponges, and I don't mind using a new one on each child, or a couple if I need to. I use three sponges on a tropical sunset face. They are really cheep if you buy tack sponges at the original horse shop, something like 4.95 for a dozen, so I have two dozen, and a car wash sponge that I have cut down to smaller pieces for little faces. I just toss them into my bucket that holds my dirty water. I clean them all with ivory soap and hot water, and sometimes I toss them in the washer. I clean every brush again with ivory soap after the gigl, and sanitize them with alcohol or mehron brush cleaner (essentially alcohol). I keep my fat max, brush and water containers clean and disinfected.

I start every face by handing the child a baby wipe and asking them or the parent to clean them off, even if I can't see anything, and at the same time, I wipe my hands, and use hand sanitizer so we both start out clean.

That is the best I can do, I think. I try not to put anything away wet too, it just seems to me that bactieria will thrive in wet conditions better than clean dry conditions.

When I worked as a MUA, we had to clean the brushes in between clients, and we had to scrape off lipstick onto a spatula, put the shadow or blush on a tissue and then pick it up with the brush, and use disposible mascara wands. I carry some of these things in my kit now too, and they come in handy.

You are probably going to find the worst germs on your hands, and kids hands, so if a kid touches my stuff, I clean it with a wet one, and I am super agressive with my own hands, so that I don't put the bad stuff on my paints myself.

I have not had to turn away a sick kid yet, but I am sure that I will cross that bridge.

Fand Foot Mouth ---- YIKES!!! highly contagious.

I'm sure you did great with taking care of you supplies, but a heads up about it going around would have been nice

Thanks ladies - none of the kids there had H F & M at the time but many of the kids had been in contact with the ones there were away sick in the days prior.

What would you do? Would you spritz the paint with alcohol generously, I just dont know what to do - its going to cost me about $130 just to replace the cakes I used on the kids, so I can do the job I have booked tonight I can replace the paints no problem but I want to still try and save the ones I have now - they are all still practically new.

I would call a pediatrican and ask the nurse how HFM is transmitted. You could also do a web search, but I am not sure how much I would trust that. If it is like some viruses, it may take person to person contact, but some can live on surfaces, and it would probably be worth finding out. I think I would clean the top of the cake for each one you used, and clean your kit well, then depend on the experts as to how agressive you need to be with the paint that may be contaminated.

I've never heard of Hand Foot Mouth, so went on google and saw some pictures I wish I hadn't found

I did run across this from the Mayo clinic on HFM.

Oral ingestion is the main source of coxsackievirus infection and hand-foot-and-mouth disease. The illness spreads by person-to-person contact with an infected person's:

Nasal secretions or throat discharge
Saliva
Fluid from blisters
Stool
Respiratory droplets sprayed into the air after a cough or sneeze

I didn't see anything that said if it could live outside of a person or not.. .but this makes it sound like it couldn't.

I found one where it said it could live up to 4 weeks on surfaces - but if you didn't have blisters, and don't go near mucus membranes, and didn't go near saliva, you might be ok (if no one sneezed or coughed on your kit). It says hand washing is the safest way to prevent....

Thank you so much ladies

I spoke to the nurse who looked it up for me and there really isn't a whole lot I can do other than dry the paints out as much as i can and let them be for a few weeks. But I brought some isopropyl alcohol anyways and will use it every once and a while if I feel the need.

I have to say I almost wish I didn't know about the H F M - sometimes ignorance is bliss - but then its my business and its important to me I do the best I can for my customers.

I have links to most MSDS on my resources pages (link in my signature)