I love getting my hands dirty and being in touch with what I am creating. I don’t think I could handle using gloves.
Thank you for researching Unison to reassure us that we’re alright with simple precautions.

Thank you Emma for the great info and reassurance you have given. I live in the tropics and am an asthmatic. It took me a while to realise I was inhaling dust from the fan I was using to keep cool. I would then get very chesty and mucous breathing at night. I love pastels and can use them if I take commonsense actions and don’t use a fan, wipe down surfaces in between and use good brands and paper. If it’s hot I’ll use watercolours and acrylics and use pastels in winter. Thank you for the good report. Regards from Australia.

Thank you so much,  Emma - so important information! 🙏 I personally get a bit stressed just by watching artists who blows away tons of pastel dust when they paint - not so healthy, and soooo difficult to get rid of! It lands just about everywhere - apart from the lungs... 😳 I collect and re-use my dust - can get some amazing neutrals that way! 👍 Thanks again! ❤️

Thank you Emma, you take all the leg work out of pastelling. We can simply enjoy the process and make art without investing in years of trial and error. Thank you for your well researched talk. You have been so kind to share your knowledge with us.

Sadly I don’t think I can use these in a one bedroom apartment with a cat. Either it’s done in the small room I sleep in with poor ventilation, the table I eat at, or the couch which is still close to where I eat and probably isn’t a great place to draw anyways. Maybe I could do oil pastels. I like how realistic you can get with soft though. I don’t see much of that with oil.

Great info Emma, thanks 👍 I've just started the gorgeous unisons and have discovered my eyes are quite itchy, I was getting too enthusiastic with blowing the dust 😂 I also have chest problems and I am dong Art in a box room where I also sleep and eat! 😬 I'm very limited on space but will need to make adjustments for sure, because I adore these pastels. 😎

Thanks this is good information. Used with pastel mat I don’t even get asthma.

Are they made of chalk? Didnt Johnson and Johnson get a multi billion dollar fine for asbestos in their body powder made of chalk? I am so worried of getting asbestos in my lungs. Same with loose blushes. I avoid loose powders.

Hi Emma Mark here, thanks for this video. Until recently I have been doing my art on my lap with the  painting stuck on a board tilted up towards me, I had felt that I was too close to it to safely avoid breathing in pastel dust and have now started using an easel and changed my set up to something more comfortable and practical.  This video has confirmed for me my need to change the way I pastel but also has put my mind at rest in using Unison pastels. Thanks - Mark.

Thank you! Oh I hope this will help those who get on FB groups to just scare people. Common sense and a filtered area helps greatly. Thank you!😊

I’m actually really curious as to whether there are lead-based pastels on the market as I’m looking for them. My favourite pastelists of all time (all dead) achieved this glow using lead in their white pastels. From using lead white oil paint for flesh, I am convinced it could improve my pastels too

Hullo Emma! Wonderful video and so many salient points about pastels! I am not sure why people as so afraid if they do just a bit of research they will find the information you so graciously gave us all! I look forward to seeing a video on your current curly haired dog portrait! Til then be safe and take care!

What are the risks associated with it if according to Unison they’re nontoxic? Seems contradictory if I’m not mistaken. I’ve been using pastels for a few years now and don’t really do anything except give my studio a good vacuuming every now and then. I think I’ll start doing a bit more and wiping down surfaces more often just as a precaution but compared to other stuff we’re exposed to on a daily basis it’s probably minuscule (at least that’s what I tell myself).

Emma....your videos are unique 🙏🙏🙏

Could you do a video on some cheaper pastel brands? I have lupus and a bunch of other autoimmune diseases, but I love working with pastels.

Obrigado pelas dicas! Está tudo muito correto! Parabéns pelo seu maravilhoso trabalho!

Thank you so much for this video.

Thank you! 😊

Wonderful discussion of the subject.  I completely agree with all your points, especially that the worst risk is the temptation of blowing the dust off your paintings. I just ordered a table easel myself, but until now I was working flat, and would just tap my drawing board on my art table or over a bin to remove dust.  A good choice for people just beginning and discovering whether they even like the medium.

Great point that not only various pastels -- but various papers -- produce different amounts of dust.  Hard pastels generally produce less, but I have a cheap set of harder children's grade Mungyos (they are small and square, and are also sold under other brand names including Jackson's) that produce more dust than any others I have! I got them for art therapy, thinking I could use them up freely without feeling wasteful, but find I hate them because they adhere so poorly to paper and make such weak marks.  I've heard teachers recommend these for beginners, but I cannot agree, NuPastels are a much better choice.

I have also had a go at making my own pastels, and you are so right, it's necessary to adjust the formula individually for each color to get a pastel that is pleasing to use -- since each pigment has different properties.  In concept it is simple, but one has to measure very carefully, take very detailed notes, and experiment endlessly!   I thought I would save money doing this, but I'm sure I haven't because of all the failures.  So I have great respect for companies like Unison and Terry Ludwig who do such a good job of this. I'm pretty sure there are more companies who make ONLY soft pastel more than any other art medium, and this would be why.

Soft pastels make my throat itchy and makes me cough. I don't get this with hard pastels or pencil pastels.