DIY Face Paint Using Organic Materials

When I first started exploring different hobbies twelve year s ago, one of the first things I looked for was making a face paint. You see, while I respect the safe and popular paints out in the market today, I also wanted to try something that’s somewhat organic for my face painting.

Hence, these easy yet very practical recipes for homemade face paint:

1. In a clean bowl, mix one tsp of cornstarch, half a tsp of water, and half a tsp of cold cream. Keep mixing until they are well blended. Split them into equal parts and mix organic food coloring to each, gradually adding one drop to the mixture and blending before adding another one. Gradual yet complete mixing aims to achieve your fancied color and so blend them slowly but surely. Make primary colors (black, white, red, etc.) so that you can just mix them when you need secondary colors (ex. mix red to white for pink, mix red and blue for purple, etc.).
2. Mix 3 Tbsp of cornstarch and 1 Tbsp of flour. Mix in ¼ cup of water and ¾ cup of light corn syrup. Mix all of these until creamy or smooth. Again, divide into parts and mix food coloring for color.
3. This batch is enough to cover a kid’s face—mix 2 Tbsp of cornstarch and 1 Tbsp of cooking shortening. Add food coloring drops one at a time. 
4. Mix 4 Tbsp of vegetable shortening, five teaspoons of cornstarch, and 2 Tbsp of flour. Add ten drops of glycerin until the mixture is smooth and/or creamy. Correctly split the mixture. Add gel food coloring (organic), small amounts at a time, until you achieve your desired color. Apply some nice and clean cold cream to the face before applying paint for quick removal.

As with any other face paint mixture, be sure to do a proper skin test before applying it to a child’s face to check for any allergies. Check for open cuts or wounds. If you find any, it is suggested not to put on any homemade (and even store-bought) face paint make-up until the applied skin condition clears up.

As with anything homemade, there may be batches that become hit-and-miss. (It hasn’t happened to me yet, but just in case.) If you have a face painting business, use it on your family first (families for experimenting, haha) for safety purposes.

The most agreeable part about making homemade paints is that you’ll get the chance to include your children. Letting them engage in the pre-painting process is a great bonding exercise for every member of the family.