Whether thrilling the crowds with face painting skills or changing your own face into your beloved clown character, proper care and storage is as important as buying quality, professional products to work with. Purchasing professional, name brand products helps ensure the best results in your work. Brands like Mehron, Graftoban, Wolfe, Ben Nye and Snazaroo are among the leaders in both face paint and clown make up supplies.
NEVER use poster paints when face painting, non-toxic does not mean it's safe to use on skin.
Keep it clean. A clean work space and supplies not only keeps your face paint and make up looking great, it also helps prevent the spreading of germs. The latter is more of a factor while face painting. Frequently changing your rinse water will help keep your paints and brushes clean which in turn makes the colors stay bright.
Have hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes in your kit to keep your work area tidy. If a customer has a dirty face, hand them a wipe to clean up before painting them. Occasionally wipe the paints down also keeps things germ free and helps paints colors from getting muddy.
After your gig, clean the paints as well as your brushes. Using a make up brush cleanser is a good idea, this will help the brushes stay clean and last longer.
A final word on the neatness factor; it just plain looks more professional and appealing to your clients to have a well kept work area.
Many of the same rules apply when caring for your clown make up; keep your brushes and make up clean and they will last much longer.
When powdering your clown make up, make sure to cover the make up containers to prevent loose powder from falling in, this prevents your make up from drying out prematurely.
Storage
Store your supplies in a cool, dry place. Face paints and clown make up are not good in excessive heat. I recommend investing in carrying cases for your paints and make up, this helps form miss placing items and it is easier to see when you need to reorder materials.
