Face Painting Post COVID19 - How to get Back to Work

It is a new year and we are excited to see some progress in the fight against COVID19. The Face Painting industry has been hit really hard worldwide and news of huge vaccination efforts in the US and abroad bring new hope to our industry. Here is a chart to track down vaccination per state.

Face Painting has existed for decades in its modern form and it will continue to do so. Many have noticed the current demand of customers eager to celebrate and have professional face painters at their parties.

So, as with everything in life, we should be prepared for when those calls return and it is considered safe to be back doing what we love.

In the following paragraphs we will go over some things we consider essential for every face painter to know so they can be ready when the time comes.

                           Super Hero Design by Codie Scott

Having your Face Painting Kit Ready to Go!

After a year long pause due to Coronavirus your face painting kit might need some care. Make sure that all of your face paints are in good conditions, sanitize them properly using 70% alcohol and make sure they are free from mold, dirt or any debris. We offer some great face paint sanitizer sprays.
Make sure you have all of the basics: black, white, every basic color, a few rainbow and split cakes, sponges, brushes, hand sanitizer, wipes, mirror. If you are missing something buy it with time. Don't wait until the last minute when you get booked for a party and don't have enough time to order supplies.

Remember, many stores are working with lower inventory than normal to keep costs down. The competition for stock might be high once the season starts and until stores are able to return to normal inventory levels to meet the increased demand.

Have a Marketing Strategy Ready

You should start advertising to your customers soon, opening up your calendar for events starting in lets say July and offering a free refund for booking fees during 2021 if cancellation is due to COVID19 restrictions.
This way you can make sure that your regular customers know that you are ready, and they know what new skills you might have learned, what new protocols you have in place and what your current rates are. You can even offer promotional discounts if they book now for a later date. Always keep in mind that any money you receive now for future events should be set aside in case you need to refund them.

Take a look at our Face Painting Marketing Tips Blog for more information.

Send an email to your contacts with updates, link to book you, your expected starting date for events (subject to change due to COVID19 restrictions), your protocols, a nice clean picture of your kit, a new awesome design you just painted and something about how much you appreciate their support and value their understanding for the down time that you had due to Coronavirus restrictions.

Make a social media blast, ask your friends and family to share your posts as well. Write press releases and send to local newspapers. Talk to local businesses about leaving your business cards with them. The idea is to get your name out there again, generate some excitement about a future comeback... almost as if it was a movie release tour, but you are the star!

Design a Working Protocol

Although distancing restrictions might be lifted hopefully by summer, some hygiene protocols are likely going to stay in place for a while. So, design a working protocol that avoids double dipping your face paint cakes, that allows you and customers to sanitize your hands before and after, etc. A working protocol for COVID19 is not only necessary but will make you look good and responsible in front of your customers.

Almost a year ago we wrote this blog post about Face Painting and COVID19 that might give you some ideas and has some free posters you can use. It is old, and information might be outdated but there are links to follow to get up to date information.

If you are already vaccinated and you want to, you can share that information with your customers to help ease their mind a little.

Have your Face Painting Insurance Active

Make sure that your insurance is up to date, and if not, renew it. Although no insurance in our industry ever covered against infectious diseases or communicable diseases, you still need your regular liability protection.
From the research we have done there are very very few cases of anyone suing someone because of COVID19. The few known cases are against large employers that did little to protect their workers, almost none were brought up by customers and so far no customer has won a COVID19 related court case after one year into this pandemic.

Here is a quote from a news article:
"In the context of Covid-19, that would mean customers showing that a business owner did not take appropriate precautionary measures, such as disinfecting surfaces, enforcing social distancing or requiring employees to wear masks, Bell said.

Further, plaintiffs would have to prove they got the coronavirus from the place of business — which could be especially difficult given the long incubation period for the virus, he said.

“That’s going to be an extremely high bar,” Bell said. “And because of that, I think this is a distraction. It’s not a real issue.”

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/21/are-businesses-in-danger-of-coronavirus-lawsuits-as-they-reopen.html

We have an entire blog post about the importance of face painting insurance that you should read about.

There are risks in any job and industry, when we choose to work in one we accept that there will be some things that insurance won't cover, so we do our best to work with good protocols to prevent unwanted situations. If you work the correct way keeping your customer`s health in mind, you will reduce your chances of having any issues.

Stay on Top of Your Local Regulations

Subscribe to your local representatives newsletter or your city's newsletter to stay on top of new regulations, lifting of restrictions, grants, loans, and any other information that is vital to your business. This way you will be able to act fast and return to work as quickly as possible.

Practice Your Face Painting Skills

If you have not grabbed a brush in a while, make sure to start practicing again, fill your social media pages with new designs, and get those muscles working again so that you feel confident once you are back on the field.

This Face Painting Ideas blog post might help you practice some simple designs that you can adapt in case your customers are still using a mask.

Although we are sure you remember how to face paint, it is always a good idea to practice a few times before you go out to paint, so that you can re gain your speed and steady hand. You might also want to practice while wearing a face mask to see how it goes. Make sure to wear a mask that is snug around the nose and cheeks so that it doesn't block your vision. 

Create New Designs that Work with Your Protocol

You may choose to start out just painting the body and not the face, or to only paint around the eye area instead of full faces. Make sure that you have a design board ready with designs that you can offer to your clients before they book you so that they know what to expect. If you are only going to use alcohol based paints like Proaiir Hybrids, Dips or Solids you will want to figure out what designs you can paint with these products and have a board to go with them as well. 

                              Kiki Lee's  Llama Design with Face Mask 

Take Advantage of the Huge Sales

During these very harsh times most face paint stores had to reduce expenses to a minimum, sacrificing stock and online tools that allowed us to grow and invest in our business, and most of us have been working at a loss just to keep our businesses open. So, we have been putting on very large sales to encourage painters to get their supplies at a very good price and move excess inventory.

This won't last forever as once the demands picks up we will need to re-stock, increase our work force and continue to invest in growing our business. We will be forced to end those huge sales in order to bring back our businesses to a healthy financial stance so that we can be here to serve you for the long term.

So, if you have the need and can afford to buy face painting supplies, now is the time. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter (use the Join the Mailing List box at the bottom of the website) so that you get informed of when we are having a sale. Remember, we work with Afterpay so that you can finance your purchase in up to 4 installments without interests!*

 Stay Strong!

You might get some gigs booked and they may end up canceling do to Covid. This will be less likely to happen as the year goes on, so don't give up if you get some cancellations at the beginning. Once you finally get back in to the flow of gigs and spreading happiness through the art of face painting, you will realize that it was worth the wait! 

We really hope this blog post has been of help. Remember to subscribe and leave a comment on the sections below. 

Disclaimer: we are not doctors or lawyers, all information here is presented as personal opinions. Always consult with a professional to get medical or legal advice.