Greasepaint

GREASEPAINT, a cosmetic agent used primarily by actors for the purpose of giving the face and other parts of the body not covered by clothing an appearance corresponding to the role being performed. Greasepaint consists of a fatty base (a mixture of liquid vegetable oil, petroleum jelly, beeswax, ceresin, lanolin, etc.), a so-called powdery base (zinc oxide, talc), and coloring agents. Greasepaints are prepared in the following manner: substances intended for the powdery base are turned into the finest powder by thorough grinding in a porcelain mortar and are then sifted; coloring agents, after being ground and sifted, are moistened with water or alcohol, thoroughly stirred, and then mixed with the powdery base, to which they are added in small, separate portions while constantly grinding the entire mass in the mortar. To obtain the finest and most uniformly colored mixture of paint with the powdery base possible, the mixture is moistened once more with alcohol or water during grinding and, after drying, is ground and sifted again. After this, the appropriate amount of the resulting powdery mixture is added to the melted fatty base (approximately 2 parts powder to 1 part fatty base) and thoroughly ground until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Finally, flavoring substances (essential oils) are added to the warm mass, and the final stirring of the mass is performed; the resulting mass is poured either directly into the compartments of boxes (greasepaint in the form of cakes) or into cylindrical molds with pointed ends (pencils). All materials used for the manufacture of greasepaint must be pure preparations without impurities harmful to health. Therefore, the following mineral substances are inadmissible: barium (except for barium sulfate), bismuth [except for its basic nitrate salt and basic bismuth chloride (bismuth oxychloride)], cadmium, copper, arsenic, tin (except for tin oxide), mercury (except for cinnabar), lead, antimony, uranium, chromium (except for chromium oxide), zinc (except for zinc oxide). Coal-tar dyes, which may have an adverse local or general effect, are also not permitted from a sanitary point of view. Too frequent use of greasepaint often causes painful changes in the skin and disrupts its excretory function. Such an effect of greasepaint is most strongly manifested in individuals with delicate skin and in children, in whom the superficial horny layer is delicate and easily permeable to substances soluble in fats.