Should I wear fake pantyhose on my face?

July 13, 2005 8:59 PM

Why shouldn't I spray pantyhose on my face? I bought these spray-on pantyhose and sprayed them on my legs. I liked it so much I tried it on my face. Looked great there too. Is there any reason I shouldn't be doing this?

This stuff just evens out your skin tone really nicely and hides any minor flaws in the process. I find when I wear normal foundation, it always looks like I'm wearing make-up (like you can see a layer of foundation and/or powder). I've tried lots of brands and shades and it's always the same, even when the ladies ot the store do it.

This stuff appears to just be foundation that's very watery and sprays on into a thin layer which you then just sort of rub into the skin. However, the bottle lists no ingredients, so I can't do any research that way. It also says (of course) "Use only as directed" and I'm thinking that if it were a good idea to use this on your face, they'd make a face formula and raise the price. Since they haven't, maybe it's a bad idea.

But why would it be a bad idea? What harm could come of putting this on my face. I sprayed it into my hand and then rubbed my hands on my face, so I'm not spraying aerosol directly onto my face. I did not break out or observe any other negative effects in the following few days.

Are there any potential bad effects I may not be thinking of?

posted by duck to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

Here are the ingredients. Despite some of the scary sounding names I don't know if any of them will harm your face.
posted by tellurian at 9:18 PM on July 13, 2005

Oh! and here's a link to their Airbrush Makeup which has many more ingredients. They are discussed here.
posted by tellurian at 9:38 PM on July 13, 2005

This made my morning just with the headline. And sorry, I do not know - but I can't see any fundamental difference between the skin of the legs and the face so if it doesn't harm your legs why should it harm your face?
posted by keijo at 9:41 PM on July 13, 2005

Well, facial skin is a lot more delicate then skin on the rest of your body, but a lot of people use non-face products on their faces, like preperation-H for getting rid of under-eye bags.

But if it does cause skin problems, it would be a lot worse on your face then your legs. Remember, beauty products don't need to be approved by the FDA. People can sell anything they want and say whatever they want about it.

But asside from the increased sensitivity and importance of your face, as far as I know it's safe to put on any peice of your skin it should be safe to put on your face.
posted by delmoi at 9:42 PM on July 13, 2005

Well, the skin on your face is generally more sensitive, so there's that. (on preview: What delmoi said.)

I would think that what's basically a cheap spray self-tanning lotion would be more prone to streaking than something developed specifically for your face (since others wouldn't notice a streak on your leg as quickly as they would on your cheek). But if you're not breaking out, and you're not having any problems with streakiness, then good on ya and go for it.

And yes, this title of this thread has been cracking me up for the past ten minutes.
posted by occhiblu at 9:46 PM on July 13, 2005

It is the best headline ever. I think I'd be a little concerned about using that around your eyes. I know even most face creams aren't meant to go around the eyes as the skin there is so sensitive. I'd also be a bit concerned about clogged pores. My guess is that they can't create a face friendly version that stays on well enough you don't sweat or rub it off without causing breakouts. (uh, on preview see above)

So, really, you're putting what is likely a fake tanner-type of thing on your face - for science!
posted by Salmonberry at 9:47 PM on July 13, 2005

If there is a problem, I suspect it has to do with chemicals you'd be much more likely to inhale or otherwise ingest. Then again, this never stopped people from using hairspray . . .
posted by aladfar at 9:55 PM on July 13, 2005

Response by poster: Hmm...so they do make a face version...I'm going to buy some of that and see how it's different. I'm really surprised it costs about the same. If I were them I would totally have jacked up the price. I see that the face version goes a tiny ligher on the butane.

I didn't notice any streaking, but that's probably because I wasn't going for a fake tan look (in fact, the colour I bought is probably a teeny bit ligher than my natural skin tone). I'm pretty obsessively anti-tanning. But I was (mostly) in an air-conditioned building, so perhaps more experimenting is needed to ensure that no streaking or rubbing off occurs under other circumstances. For science, of course.

And I thought you might like the headline...
posted by duck at 10:00 PM on July 13, 2005

this makes me want to buy some and try it.
posted by angry modem at 10:11 PM on July 13, 2005

When I read the headline I was imagining like a spray on pantyhose on someone's face, like they were going to rob a bank.

haha
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 11:20 PM on July 13, 2005 [1 favorite]

In general makeup for the body including lotions and sunless tanners tend to contain ingredients that may irritate people with sensitive facial skin. They will use a cheaper oil base, for example, or a higher amount of silicone base for a smoother feel. If these things don't irritate your face, it's not usually a problem. The two biggies I would watch out for is that they may not be obligated to use ingredients that have been tested to be safe on eyes or lips because intended use is for the legs.
posted by hindmost at 1:32 AM on July 14, 2005

Don't blame us if you get the runs.
posted by Rothko at 1:43 AM on July 14, 2005

Well, facial skin is a lot more delicate then skin on the rest of your body, but a lot of people use non-face products on their faces, like preparation for getting rid of under-eye bags.

This is true but there is a difference between skin on/around your mucus membranes and the skin that is not. Not to be crass but preparation is a product designed to work on skin on/around these places, spray on panty hose is not.

I also had the same thought as S@L, I pictured this guy walking into a bank "disguised" by spray on hose.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:42 AM on July 14, 2005

You know you are getting older when someone says, "Your pantyhose are sagging" and you're not wearing any!

Rimshot!

Sorry, Matt, I couldn't help myself
posted by RMALCOLM at 7:11 AM on July 14, 2005

Thanks for the giggle. Putting butane and alumina (aluminum) on your face sounds really scary. Have you tried a mineral foundation like this or this. They don't have any harmful ingredients and they actually contain a natural sunscreen of about an SPF 15. I was amazed at how much coverage it provided and how non-make-upy it feels. I'll never go back to liquid foundation.
posted by crapulent at 9:08 AM on July 14, 2005

Butane is a propellant (as that Wikipedia article notes), so you're not putting it on your face, you're spraying it into the air just outside the spray can. Alumina (aluminum oxide, not aluminum; it's as close to aluminum as table salt is to chlorine) is probably used as a substrate for the dye and is pretty common in cosmetics, and is inert. I'm not sure why they sound scary, unless you think all chemical names are scary.

Aluminum is, of course, a mineral found in nature. I noticed that neither of those "mineral foundation" websites list ingredients.

It's the hydrogen hydroxide that'll get you, though.
posted by mendel at 10:35 AM on July 14, 2005

Yes, the Pampered Princess site does: "Foundation - 30 gram Jar with Sifter - $12.00 Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Magnesium Stearate, Iron Oxides" and this site has the ingredients for bare Minerals: "Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 25%, Zinc Oxide 19.6%."
posted by crapulent at 11:12 AM on July 14, 2005

Metafilter: Spray fake pantyhose on my face.
posted by junesix at 12:28 PM on July 14, 2005