Face painting is great fun for children and is fantastic entertainment for any kind of event, whether a birthday party, village fair, school fete or shopping mall/company promotion. Applied properly, face painting is a true art form and there are many useful products to assist in providing a professional finish.
If you are organizing a face painting event, remember that it is important to use face paints that are specially formulated to be kind to the most delicate skin and are fragrance-free, as many people with sensitive skins are intolerant to perfumes. Make sure the face paints are manufactured using only ingredients fully compliant with EU or FDA toy and cosmetic regulations and are non-toxic.
It is recommended that you use water-based face paints, so they will be easy to get off and will not stain clothing. Do not be tempted to use crayon sticks, as these tend to be grease based, coarse and drag on the skin. Face paints should not be used on a child who has any open cuts, sores or fresh bruising, or on anyone suffering from a cold sore or conjunctivitis or any other known infectious skin condition.
Face paints are widely available at online stores or through dance, theater and fancy dress shops as well as toy or craft shops. Face paint is typically supplied in 18ml or 75ml tubes or pots. When calculating quantities, it is useful to know that the 18ml paints will easily paint one hundred full faces. If you are doing smaller designs, for example cheek art, that number can be multiplied by twenty to thirty.
The 75ml paints will be sufficient to cover at least 450 full faces. When it comes to choosing colors, the sky is the limit with a veritable rainbow of hues available, in either matte or sparkling ranges. Accessories such as good quality sponges, brushes and glitter dust are essential.
For a professional look, it is worth buying or borrowing a book on face painting. There are several good books on face painting available, with step-by-step instructions and photographs on achieving professional results and with some good ideas to try. There are even face painting books dedicated to one particular theme, for example cat, princess or butterfly designs, which would be invaluable for a themed party.
Animal designs are very popular with children, as are superhero and monster designs. Books range from five minute face painting, with simple designs suitable for a beginner, to extremely complicated and intricate designs for the professional. It is also possible to buy practice masks in a range of skin tones at a small cost, which is advisable if you are not experienced and do not have a live model to experiment on!
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