Alexandra Leigh Carter's son, McKenzie, was so excited to have his face painted for his Halloween costume using makeup his mom bought at the store.
But moments after Alexandra applied the Halloween makeup, McKenzie was in the shower washing it off — because it burned his skin!
"McKenzie has never had a reaction to face paints at all," Alexandra told LittleThings. "A huge chain supermarket [endorsing] products for children should be more stringently aware of the ingredients and chemicals that are intended for use by children."
Thankfully, McKenzie is OK now, but Alexandra posted to her Facebook to warn other parents who are getting ready to dress up their children for Halloween.
"I'd like to share this to warn other parents," she wrote on Facebook. "We did this as a trial run for Halloween and safe to say I'll never be using face paint again."
Keep scrolling to read what Alexandra had to say, and see how the makeup affected her son's face.
Australian mom Alexandra Leigh Carter was shocked to see that a popular store-bought Halloween makeup kit she purchased burned her son's skin.
"I did a skin test, and while we waited, we looked at Google for some inspiration," she told LittleThings. "After wiping away the test area on his wrist, we proceeded."
Afterward, she took to Facebook to warn other parents.
Alexandra posted these photos on Facebook with the message:
This was only on him for 3 minutes and then had to immediately take him for a shower. It has severely burnt his skin. I’d like to share this to warn other parents. We did this as a trial run for Halloween and safe to say I’ll never be using face paint again.
This is the Halloween makeup kit she bought — many stores carry similar products.
The family had done a test run of the makeup to make sure it was what her son McKenzie wanted. But within three minutes, his face was hurting.
"It was a matter of minutes, three at most, before he said it was itching and burning and [I] placed him straight in the shower and removed the excess with a cotton face towel, which revealed an allergic reaction," the mom told LittleThings.
Mckenzie had been so excited for his face painting, but it had to come off almost immediately.
"I continued to check on him throughout the night, and it didn't entirely go down [til] the following day," she told LittleThings.
This is what her son's face looked like after washing the Halloween makeup off.
"For my son to never have a reaction before this is concerning," the mom told LittleThings.
The mom also told us that she fears this could also happen to children who have allergies or even to kids who haven't had an issue with Halloween makeup before.
Alexandra said it's important to check the ingredients listed on the pack of makeup products like this one.
"After doing independent research and some insight from face painters, I've found what each of those chemicals is in the product," she told LittleThings. "Some are even used in acrylic nails, for example. There's a coloring agent called CI42090 that's even banned in the majority of Europe, so I question why its allowed in Australian products!"
Alexandra did the right thing by deciding to wash the makeup off of her son's face right away. And although they'll have to change his costume now, she's happy he's OK.
"Thankfully, McKenzie is OK, and no long-term damage has been done due to quick actions," she told LittleThings. "If a child had this on for longer, it could be worse."
Alexandra also commented that McKenzie was worried that the burning from his allergic reaction would be permanent.
"If this was a result of only 3 mins I couldn't imagine the lasting effects it could've had on a child doing a night of trick or treating and being on for a couple of hours," she wrote.
For now, McKenzie and his siblings won't be using face paint anymore but still enjoy other crafts.
"It won't stop us from having fun, as we've always had fun with paint," Alexandra told LittleThings. "I'm now more aware of what's in products and hope others can learn from our mistake."
Thankfully, this hasn't ruined the family's festivities, and McKenzie is still looking forward to dressing up.
"My warning is for parents over festive seasons or events is to please be mindful of what is actually in products," Alexandra told LittleThings.
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