As we were all aware, using make up and prosthetics in the filming industry can be dangerous if percaussions aren't in place. For example, an actor could have a serious allergic reaction to the substances being used on set. These safety percussions will be different for every set. So for ours we had to create our own to ensure our actor was safe at all times.

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As many may know a lot of substances are harmful to your health in the field of work. This includes; dust, gasses or fumes that we breathe in. For liquids; gels or powders which can come in contact with our eyes. These are also known as harmful micro-organisms which can cause infection or can trigger allergic reactions. Things that people may not know is this can be present in products/items such as paints or cleaners.

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The hazards - Some substances may cause asthma or other diseases including cancer, damage to the skin and some can cause long-term serious damage to the lungs.

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How we prevent this - To help prevent any injuries there are many ways to avoid this including; learning what the health hazards are with the substances you are using, carry out a risk assessment (This can help provide a control measurement to reduce the harm to your health), providing a detailed list of information explaining all of the hazards that could occur with the substances being used and finally always have a plan for the worst. Have the emergency services at a quick dial.

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What to consider in a risk assessment - When carrying out a risk assessment, everything must be taken into consideration. For example, how will the people involved with the substance be exposed? Could this affect their skin? or lungs via being inhaled by mistake? Nothing should be brushed over. After all of the risks have been identified they must be controlled by eliminating any possibilities of there being an accident.  Another thing to take into consideration is, is their another option. A safer option? Minimising the chance of mistake or error leading into an accident.

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Containment & hygiene - To prevent substances from contaminating with each other you must ensure that your work place is 100% tidy and cleaned down thoroughly every time you change substance or finish using one. This can prevent a mistake from happening when you don't even realise you are about to cause one. For example you don't want to accidentally give your subject an allergic reaction from a substance you accidentally contaminated into another one that you know would not give them an allergic reaction.

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Things that are not covered by COSHH; Lead. Asbestos and radioactive substances. This is due to them having their own regulations specifically related to the product

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To begin with, before we started with applying anything we did a patch test with the substances we were going to use on our actor. A patch test is when a small amount of the substances are applied to an area of skin which can be hidden if the actor was to get a rash or worse. For our patch test we applied ours on the back of the wrist and waited 2 hours minimum to ensure that our actor wouldn't be allergic to it.

 

After we ensured our actor was not allergic to the substances we would be using. We then began with creating our wax mould. To ensure there was minimum contact with any harmful substances we made sure our tools were cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis. As well as keeping them on a clean surface at all times.