A “Fright Night” from China that can be taken literally

By Judi McLeod —— Bio and Archives October 30, 2007

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The Peoples' Republic of China, which started frightening consumers last March with poisoned pet food, is still at it this Halloween. This time it's a product, aptly called "Fright Night". Touted as a "temporary hair color", you could have fooled a Kent woman whose painful right hand will outlast the traditional night of trick or treat.

The trick for a Kent woman was hairspray that exploded leaving her with second-degree burns. (www.king5.com October 29, 2007) Diane Boynton had bought a can of "Fright Night Temporary Hair Color-Black Fog" for a Halloween costume for her son. The can sat on a table ostensibly waiting costume time. It somehow fell off of the table onto the floor. "And all of a sudden I heard a sound and looked down and it was spraying black up the wall, all over the carpet, all over the end table," she said. Not wanting a black living room, Ms. Boynton grabbed the spraying can with her right hand to try and stop the spraying of her wall and carpet. Some of the chemical from the faulty can poured onto her hand and fingers. "It was like a burning but it was very, very cold," she said. "Like if I was carrying dry ice." When she was treated for her injuries, a doctor wanted to make sure what was inside the can. "When I came back here I went to the doctor and he said you need to find out what the chemical is, so we can know the most effective way to treat you," she said. And as of now I have not been able to do that." The next best thing was calling the store she bought it from, and they told her to contact the manufacturer. That was the end of the line as "Fright Night" is made and produced in China. Hoping to flag a Halloween headed public, she make a point of contacting the distributor--American International Industries--but is yet to receive a reply. "If that was a young kid, it could have caused some permanent damage and I know how painful it was for me and I don't want to see another family go through this," Boynton said. With no conclusion on where the product is available and no mass media to get a warning out to the public at large, Boynton says she will be spending a scary night on Halloween--worrying that others who use it may also suffer the same results. The best thing she could do was ask the store she bought it from to pull it from their shelves--but it is still available for purchase. Lots of ghosts and goblins go out on the trick �n treat sporting temporary hair colour. For safety's sake, don't let it be the China-produced "Fright Night".