Whatever you do, don't inhale...

Sorry for the late post. I was having one of those mornings where, despite being awake early and having loads to do, my bed was so impossibly and perfectly cozy and comfortable that, well, I opted for that instead. And now I'm paying for it: catching up with writing, supervising workers in my house, an endless to-do list...ah, such is life.

Last week I wrote about a set of Rembrandt pastels that I bought to indulge my creative side (read the original post here), only find out that they are as toxic as the day is long. Or are they? The box had a sticker on it with that terribly vague but nonetheless frightening statement to comply with California's Proposition 65:

"This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer."

Isn't that just f*cktastic. So I haven't used the pastels yet. Looked at them longingly a number of times, but not actually used them. Having done the whole cancer thing once already, I wasn't willing to go forth and be artsy without better understanding my risks.

Both Hubs and I spent much time combing the Interwebs for more information. Royal Talens, the Dutch company that makes Rembrandt, wasn't easy to contact, so I sent an inquiry through their Facebook and called a local sales rep (who was of course overseas visiting Corporate Mother). I read a bunch of articles and bulletin board posts on keeping your pastel studio safe (er, turns out I really *shouldn't* work at the kitchen table. Oops.), but didn't see much specific to the toxicity of Rembrandts.

Hubby had a little more luck, finding some info about the use of toxic metals to create certain pigments: cadmium, cobalt, lead. I knew this already, and also knew that Rembrandt no longer included those metals in their pigment recipes. So what was it making my pastels so hazardous???

A likely culprit is titanium dioxide. Hubs found a few different pages talking about it, how it is a common ingredient in many of the lighter color sticks. Huh. That sounds really familiar, titanium dioxide. Sounds almost like...sunscreen???

Sure enough, it IS an active ingredient in sunscreens. And pressed powder. And about 11,000 other health and beauty products.  ELEVEN THOUSAND! And that's just what's listed in EWG's Skin Deep database.

That doesn't make any sense. A chemical that's safe enough to put in so many consumer products is considered a carcinogen in my pastels? How can that be?

Turns out no one wants to tell me. I haven't heard back from Royal Talens, so we used our powers of intelligent deduction to determine that it's the dust from the pastel sticks that is so hazardous. These micro-particles are nearly impossible to control, but wreak havoc on your lungs. The same titanium dioxide that is completely safe to use as a sunscreen (because your body doesn't absorb it) is a total monster when it's inhaled. 

I bought some good masks from 3M and until I know for sure, will play it safe by working outside. The same goes for cosmetics, since so many contain this ingredient. I can't imagine how many women are happily dusting their faces with some high-priced powder that was sold to them under the auspice of getting that flawless finish with sunscreen! I'm choking at the thought.

Lesson for the day? ALWAYS CHECK THE LABEL.

--Jazzy