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Tips for Creating A Not So Toxic Halloween and DIY Halloween Makeup

The other day my kids, getting in the spirit of Halloween, grabbed a tube of fake blood and bright colored eye makeup when we popped into the dollar store nearby. I have a natural distrust of $1 makeup. So I refuse to buy it. But this year, even more so than others, I have been reading a lot about the toxic nature of some commercial makeups. It’s hard not to be worried when reading about parabens lately in the news. So how can you keep your kids safe and your Halloween from being toxic?

Well, I consulted with the Environmental Defence Fund for ideas on how to keep kids safe. Luckily these DIY tips for makeup are not only healthy, but also thrifty, environmentally friendly and fun for the whole family.

Toxic-free Halloween: face paint that won’t make your skin crawl
The scariest thing you will see this Halloween won’t be the little ghosts and goblins knocking at your door. It will most likely be in the costume section of your nearby department or drug store.
During this time of year, many stores sell face paint to help parents transform their children into anything imaginable for Halloween. But, how safe is this stuff? If you read the packaging and ingredient list carefully, some of these products aren’t recommended for children, and contain several hard-to-pronounce chemicals such as parabens (an estrogen-mimicking chemical with suspected links to breast cancer. Yikes!). This is a frightening fact for trick-or-treaters of all ages – kids and grownups!
The good news is that there are safe alternatives. One is to make your own face paint. It’s really easy to do (your kids can help). And bonus: it won’t have any ingredients that will make your skin crawl. 

Here are two recipes:
Homemade face paint
1 tsp. corn starch
½ tsp. milk
¼ tsp. water
Natural food colouring (e.g. beet juice – red, turmeric – yellow)
Mix the milk, water, and cornstarch together. Add colouring to create your desired shade.  To apply, use a small paint brush. To remove, simply use a damp cloth.
Simple fake blood
Clear corn syrup
Beet juice (red)
Milk – optional
Choose the desired amount of corn syrup. Pour it into a bowl and mix in some beet juice. Add a small amount of milk for thicker looking blood.
What can you do with your old store bought face paint? Keep it off your face. Instead, use it to paint some spookymurals to raise awareness about toxins found in every day cosmetics products.
Also be sure to visit Environmental Defence’s website to learn more about our Just Beautiful campaign to give cosmetics and personal care products a makeover and how you can takeaction. They also have a shoppingguide which lists the toxic ten ingredients to look out for while shopping all year long.
Have a happy and toxic-free Halloween! For more information about the Environmental Defence Fund or toget involved visit http://www.environmentaldefence.ca
Try it with us! You can protect the environment and get a jump on how to make do-it-yourself all-natural Halloween makeup.

 This is a sponsored post I was happy to share because I strongly believe in protecting children and taking care of the environment too. I know my readers share the same values. My opinion is all my own.

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

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