I’d like to give special thanks to my wonderful mom who let me face paint her for this video.

Most of your face painting customers are going to be children, who have the advantage of having quite smooth skin to face paint on. However, as people age, their skin changes. It loses elasticity and becomes rougher and wrinkled. In addition, the epidermal layer becomes thinner and more fragile. It needs to be handled (and painted) strategically and with care. This video will help you consider your older clients’ needs when planning designs that will look best on older (or vintage) skin.

Products:

• Mehron Skin Prep Pro
• Light Blue,Pink, orLavender Face Paint
• TAG Pearl White
• Diamond FX White
• Paradise Orchid
• Sponge
• Cosmetic Glitter
• Loew-Cornell Flat Flora Brush
• #2 Round Brush

Tips for face painting on vintage skin:

1. Be gentle. Older skin is fragile.
2. Consider which area of the face has the least wrinkles before beginning.
3. Plan a design for the facial area on which the skin is the smoothest.
4. Prepare the skin with a product such as Mehron’s Skin Prep Pro, which will create a moisture barrier and keep skin oils from breaking down the face paint as quickly.
5. Plan a design which avoids excessive line work and sharp edges.
6. Avoid excessive use of metallics, which may cause wrinkled skin to look rougher than matte colors would.

Beth MacKinney is the owner of and primary face painter for Face Paint Pizzazz in the NW Chicago suburbs. Stop by Clownantics.com for more of Beth’s face painting tutorials, and if you’re on Facebook, join the Facepaint.com Challenge Group to showcase your artwork and have a chance to win a store credit for each week’s challenge theme.