Face Painting Ideas to make any occasion fun and safe for all ages.

You can have a booth at a school carnival, a fundraiser or even a birthday party. They are always popular and a good money maker. Just put up a sign that says “Face Paints” and watch the crowd gather.

One of the most important Face Painting Ideas is to make sure that you buy paints and supplies specifically for face painting only  Tempera paints used for posters and other art crafts should never be used on the face or other parts of the body. They may contain chemicals that can cause rashes or other allergic reactions.  Even so called washable markers should not be used, especially around the eyes. They give off fumes that can irritate sensitive eyes and mucous membranes.

Kids love glitter.

Adding some glitter to the paints as a finishing touch can be one of the neater Face Painting Ideas, but use it sparingly and cautiously. Glitter can easily get in eyes.  When choosing face painting designs, make sure you have masculine and unisex themes as well as girly stars, butterflies and flowers. Both sexes like cat makeup, with whiskers drawn on their faces. Perhaps they can be tigers or lions by using different colors. Cat eye makeup can be a bit tricky, simply because it takes a lot of color around the eyes, top and bottom. One thing to consider doing instead is to have paper masks cut out of white artist’s paper and tied with yarn. Then you can paint the cat eyes on that.  Just make sure the eye holes are large enough so they don’t impair the child’s vision  The same idea works great for the kids who want to be Spiderman or Batman.

Fake blood makeup is always gross and cool, especially around Halloween. But for the squeamish parents, you may need to tone it down. Scars and warts are a nice affect. Having a few pirate eye patches lying around can be a good thing.   Girls still love beauty marks in the shapes of stars and hearts. Other great Face Painting Ideas include creating simple phrases such as “Great Kid”,  “Princess”, “Super Star”,  “No. 1 ” etc. Having a cool saying painted on the cheek can make any kid (and proud parent or grandparent) smile.

Face Painting tips :

• When it comes to the actual application, disposable makeup sponge wedges are great for covering large areas smoothly and quickly.
• Apply the face paints in thin layers so they dry faster and don’t crack. Also, make sure the base coat is thoroughly dry before applying whiskers, scars, blood or other features. Otherwise it will all run together.  Explaining the reason for the brief wait to the child will help them be more patient. Perhaps you can have them look at pictures and pick some things out while the base is drying, or watch you finish another child’s face and offer suggestions. Or you can paint another area of the body and come back to the face.
• Always use as much disposable items such as cotton swabs or eye shadow applicators so you prevent the spread of disease. Keep your brushes clean and have a few bottles of hand sanitizer in the booth.
• Baby wipes are better than tissues to make sure the child’s face is clean before painting. They are also better for boo-boos and spills..
• Dab on a tiny bit of moisturizer applied to the child’s face before you paint can help seal it.

When it comes to Face Painting, the primary one it this: remember to practice a lot on paper first. Kids get antsy and impatient – and they wiggle a lot. Stencils can save a great deal of time. So can washable tattoos. You need to be able to slap the designs on quickly and accurately.  It is no fun for a kid if they have to wait, be told to hold still too often or spoil their face paints with tears of frustration. Not much fun for the painter either!