How to Face Paint - Step 2: How do I activate Face Paints?

There are different kinds of face paints available and they each activated a different way. We will start with the most basic type of face paint which is the water activated kind.

Water activated face paints come in solid cakes (like makeup compacts) and they require the use of water to activate the pigments.

To start, get a cup of clean water (or a water container like our airtight stainless steel brush washer or Rinse Well ) and dip your brush or sponge in it. When dipping a sponge, only dip the tip of it and squeeze out any excess water. When dipping your brush, make sure to remove any excess water from your brush using the edge of your water container, before heading to your cake of paint. 

Once your tool of choice has been moistened you can go ahead and activate the makeup by slowly rubbing the surface of the cake with your brush or sponge. You can do back and forth movements or circular movements. It is important to take care of your tools and never press to hard. Your face painting brushes are delicate tools, you should never press it down making the bristles spread open or bend at the ferrule, just gently rub back and forward over your face paint cake until you obtain a creamy consistency on your brush or sponge.

If you feel that the cake is too dry and you are not able to get a creamy consistency on your tool of choice then you need to add a little bit more water to your brush or sponge. If on the contrary you feel that you have added too much water and the paint is running, then rub the paint a little longer so that it absorbs the excess water, or tap out some of the water into your face paint water cup, or on a cloth. 

It is always best to start with a rather dry sponge or brush and add more water as needed, than to use too much water at the beginning and then have to deal with drippy paint.

You can learn all about how to use your face painting brushes and your face painting sponges on the next posts.