Swollen reaction

I just got a call from a parent that normally attends the monthly street party around here that I paint at and usually has her two daughters face painted. She said this time her older daughter's eye was Swollen, itchy and red for 4 days afterward, then her skin was scaly.

They usually get painted once a month
They slept in the paint (like usual)
They removed it with soap and water, then a little baby oil for the stained skin (like usual)

I dont understand, usually I only have heard 2 times about a kid having a little redness and itching afterward and it was both time a child with very sensitive skin that has broken out with numerous other skin products.

I use Wolfe, and Diamond fx. ?!!

-Mandi

Wolfe White? Was it a brand new cake or an older one? There was a bad batch a year or so ago - Wolfe knows about it. Maybe contact them for the batch numbers.

Yes it was light blue with black and white accents,
I put it in my palette so I don't have the numbers on the bottom anymore
But that is good to know, because I just refilled it with a fresh one.
-Mandi

Good to know about the white...

My, you've got some set of chompers there!!

Funny thing happened to me today...I painted my son as a pirate for the 1st time. I used plenty of dfx black around his eye..when I washed it off he had some sort of red ring around the bottom portion of his eye exactly where the black had been now it wasn't the whole eye, it kinda of looked like a scratch his skin was just raised n red in that area it went away after an hour or two but it made me wonder could it have been an allergic reaction?? Has anyone else experienced something similar?? And what do u do when a child is allergic but u don't know it? how do u handle an upset parent?

It is clearly posted on my signage that I am in no way responsible for any type of allergic reactions, and that if a parent suspects that his/her child might have an allergic reaction they need to re uest a patch test first.

I have not had one issue in the 5 years I have been painting

I have had allergic reactions to Wolfe/DFX on my own face.... I am allergic to NSAIDs and I believe that for me at least it is the acacia senegal gum in the paint that triggered it as it is sometimes use as an anti-inflammatory product.

Shannon Fennell wrote:Wolfe White? Was it a brand new cake or an older one? There was a bad batch a year or so ago - Wolfe knows about it. Maybe contact them for the batch numbers.

I was curious about this since I have some Wolfe White which is possibly "older" so I sent the following message via their web site:

I have heard that about a year ago you had a "bad" batch of Wolfe paint -- I have some "older" Wolfe white and want to make sure there is no problem with it before I use it.

Please advise what were the batch numbers of the problematic paint.

and received the following response:

About 3 or 4 years ago, we had a batch of silver that when it got a few months old, it oxidized and became hard, and it just wouldn't rehydrate. Other than that, we've never had a "Bad" batch of anything.

April Powell
Wolfe Face Art & FX
www.wolfefx.com

Shannon -- are you aware of anything else they might not be telling us, or did I ask the wrong question?

I have heard other face painters talk about some white from Wolfe about a year or so ago. Maybe they are just being aloof. I could be wrong but I thought they even did a voluntary recall??? Not sure about that though...

There was a stink a while ago about a LOT of people having allergic reactions to the Wolfe paints, painters filing complaints with Wolfe, and being dissatisfied with Wolfe's unconcerned attitude about it. This is second-hand info since I do not use Wolfe at all, but I know of a few painters who discarded all of their paints from that company and started using an entirely different brand.

I've been watching DFX and TAG threads to see if there are any similar reactions since it is basically the same formula, but haven't heard of any. Perhaps the Wolfe reactions were from a specific time period and the problem has been corrected.

Interesting. I heard the same reports, but by that time I was into current products. I go through white so quick that I doubt I've ever used any that's older. I've never known anyone personally to have a problem, but I really don't recommend sleeping in any makeup. Most will puff my eyes up if I sleep in them.
I think you should contact the company & let them know, but once it's been removed from it's container I doubt it can be tracked properly.

I remember that debacle with the Wolfe black and white lots. I also remember Wolfe's flippant response to the concerns and slow response times. I don't think there was ever a definitive resolution to the problem. I know that when I witnessed their lack of concern, I disposed of all of my Wolfe paint (with the exception of my mini palette which I use on my already ruined practice head) and I haven't gone back.
This person who responded to your inquiry is being just as flippant, in my opinion. I can't believe that she won't even acknowledge the incident! I thought it was just last year or the year before when it happened!

I haven't had any ill experiences with wolfe, but then again I only had the the essentials 12 color palette and 6 color metallix I got about 2+ years ago and just bought a skin tone palette. I turned both my essentials and metallix palettes into split cakes. I haven't purchased any Wolfe singly.

Lady Jayde wrote:I remember that debacle with the Wolfe black and white lots. I also remember Wolfe's flippant response to the concerns and slow response times. I don't think there was ever a definitive resolution to the problem. I know that when I witnessed their lack of concern, I disposed of all of my Wolfe paint (with the exception of my mini palette which I use on my already ruined practice head) and I haven't gone back.
This person who responded to your inquiry is being just as flippant, in my opinion. I can't believe that she won't even acknowledge the incident! I thought it was just last year or the year before when it happened!

Thanks for your feedback! I sent a followup email asking if I could find out when my paint was manufactured based on the lot number. I still have not heard back....

Brian Wolfe mentioned that sometimes those types of reactions are due to capping wet paint containers so that bacteria has a chance to grow. He said we should leave the lids off and let everything dry out.

Mandi - are you screwing lids back onto your Wolfe paints?

~Heff

I'm not defending Wolfe, but if they had a specific recall, you'd think it would show up somewhere no the web. I was googling trying to find any mention of a specific recall. The only recalls mentioned are the 2005 and 2009 water-based products below:
2009
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ArchiveRecalls/2009/ucm161554.htm
and this in 2005
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/2005/ucm120351.htm

It's not Wolfe, but it did mention the products had "significant microbial contamination" re: Heff's info. In fact, the only search results linking face paint recall & Wolfe link back to this forum with the same accusations without citing any additional sources...curious. I wouldn't be suprised if it was an internet rumor based in some fact that spread and morphed. Considering that this forum has a large cross-section of FPs, you'd think someone would have a link to or a reply from Wolfe if it was, in fact, Wolfe products...
That said, its not as if companies don't deny their products cause issues, but its surprising not to find one confirmation or anecdote from someone who specifically had an issue with a white Wolfe paint.

I put all my paints in a wolfe blue box palette and leave the lids off. So technically they are covered, but they have air in there, not even remotely sealed off from air to dry them,

Anyone else post that they are not responsible for any reactions?
I would be afraid to think that it would scare parents off?!!?

reactions are why I don't use it.

I have a small disclaimer painted on my sign that says.
As with any cosmetic product there is always a slight chance for a reaction to some skin types. All paints and glitters are FDA approved for use on the skin. We use blah blah blah I go on...

Do most of you keep your paints uncovered??
I let them dry overnight. Then recap. Should I not bother covering them??

I leave my paints uncovered all the time.

Gilded Cat: The two reports of reactions and lack of concern by Wolfe were reported on another private email list that I am on. (It wouldn't show up on an internet search.) At least one of those concerned discontinued use of the product after. I've heard nothing of a recall though.

Good to know... thanks Angie

I well remember the big issue in Late December '08 to January 2009 when I was considering getting other brands of paints. It was all over the Snazaroo forum - search 'OMG - Wolfe!'

One painter posted that her client got a really bad reaction, then lots of other painters told of their clients reactions, then asked several painters the batch number and sure enough it matched up with those having reactions. Not only was wolfe beyond slow in response, they were most cavelier about it with a so what attitude, & didn't offer a replacement, as if that mattered!!!

As if I heard enough, it happened again about six months later with another batch, angry painters and same reaction from wolfe and NO recall. We were left on our own to despence those with that batch number. Many switched brands.

Needless to say I use only Snaz and it stayed that way until Metina came to my Jam last March, letting us play with the DFX paints - oooh, like everyone else, I had to have some, too ; D

So I haven't had a problem with reactions and after a gig I let the moisture added to the paints dry out overnight before I put them away.

You know I never thought about moisture in paints adding bacteria. I often put the cap on my paints when painting because in my mind, I thought that will keep glitter and dust particles from getting in the paint and making it yucky. So, I almost ALWAYS recap my paint if I am slow. I will NOT be doing that anymore. I have never had any problems with Wolfe paint but, I have not been using it all that long really maybe for just a year, but I go through the larger pots quickly. I have went through 3 small ones and into the largest size now since Sept. Really got to try some DFX...

I have all my paints, all brands in their original containers & velroed into either the Paradise laptop or a scrapbook paper holder with their lids off. There's more than enough airflow for them to dry out. Still if there's an issue w/ Wolfe, it should be addressed. I find it interesting that it's happening around the same time each year. I have dfx, not wolfe in my kit right now, so hopefully it's ok, but they do come out of the same factory...