Face Paint on Kids

Updated on September 28, 2012
J.M. asks from Doylestown, PA
17 answers

Molly's question got M. thinking
do you like face paint on kids?

I always HATED it. For some reason unless its something done in moderation like a design around the face or on the cheek, it looks like someone threw up on their face to M.. I dont stand and say awwww your kid looks gorgeous I think awww you J. ruined a perfectly adorable face for the day=)
and then you get the smeared sweaty run off from the kids playing and wiping their arms with their face...followed by the annoying
"is my face still on?!!" one thousand times over "yes sweety! it's still on. ignore the fact your entire dress is covered in red, that must be from another kid who face planted right on your white dress without you noticing?! right?"

My daughter is always the girl in the fancy dress with a spiderman (entire face) or snake or snake tiger combo face in high heels. Could we break any more sterotypes? way to make yourself look trashy Emmy! I mean come on! Have some consideration for you mom who has to walk beside you. At the ripe old age of 6 you have managed to make yourself look like you belong to a walmart shopper! =)
We still do it and take photos because I have mom eyes so even though she looks trashy to M. shes the cutest trashiest kid that ever lived=) we do it because my daughter loves it although I have decided to buy a kit soon and do it myself before fairs instead of paying 10 bucks a pop to trash out my kid...i cant do that on my own...thank you very much!=)

so do you love face paint on your kids?

ETA I wanted to add that this was done in Jest. I dont let my daughter know I hate the way it looks and like i said I'm biased when it comes to her, and am happy she's sporting her trashy look with a smile=) i obviously let her show off her own style and am proud shes setting her own trends on the very political facepainting front=)

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So What Happened?

grandma t--- i must have inhaled the chemicals because i hate it=) although emmy still gets it every time possible. i dont mind if its a tattoo style facepaint i J. hate the animal faces and then how they look 5 minutes after playing. I also hate food on the face. never enjoyed those baby photos of someones slobbery baby with mashed something dripping out of the mouth

Featured Answers

M.R.

answers from Detroit on

LOL! This is so funny. NO, I do not like it on MY kids for the smear, its all over my hands and now all over mommy's pants effect. :) I can do without that. But, on other children, more power to them!
My friends little girl had butterfly wings on her eyes at a carnival, thought that was real cute!

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H.G.

answers from New York on

My daughter has made it to the ripe old age of 13 without having had her face painted. The thought of having a communal brush used over and over on dozens of kids' dirty, snotty faces and then on my daughter's face after being cleaned in a dirty cup of water J. grosses M. out. Tattoo - fine but no painting. Blech!

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More Answers

S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

Kids are washable. I don't love how it looks, and I am too cheap to pay for it, but I let them get it if it is free. I want my kids to know that having fun is more important than how they look. I still regret those years during my teens and early twenties when I didn't want to swim or do other fun stuff because it might mess my hair or makeup, or get my clothes dirty.

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I.G.

answers from Seattle on

Yeah, I don't like the full face masks either. Let's be honest, very few facepainters can do them right (my sis does facepainting and while I wouldn't tell her, neither can she) and they look even worse five minutes later when everything starts to run.

That said, we have had one or two J. BEAUTIFUL designs done on DD's cheek from someone who REALLY knew what they where doing. It was pure luck, both times at a fair...

Fortunately lately DD has ignored most face paint stands...I think she's over it more or less.

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K.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

If face paint magically appeared on my kids' faces for free, I'd have no problem with it. What I hate is waiting in (the longest) line, then waiting (for the longest time) for them to pick out what they want, then taking out a second mortgage to pay for it. And as some posters have said below there's the yucky brushes factor.

That being said, my daughter once got a full-face pig design and it was pretty freakin' cute!

1 mom found this helpful

A.C.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I don't mind it on my kids. In fact, I bought a face painting kit recently and will often paint their faces for them. I usually J. do something small that will fit in their cheek.
The problem I have is when they want to paint on M.. UGH! I hated that face paint junk even when I was a kid. The smell and the way it makes your skin feel tight and itchy...no thanks! I am happy to be all artsy at someone else's expense, lol!

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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

I have issues with face paint but not with how it looks -- it often looks great and professional -- but take a ton of photos and you'll be less upset that it smears five minutes later.

My issues are the fact that face painters use the same paints and brushes on kid after kid at some big event. Hello, germs and viruses trapped in greasy paint that holds them right by my kid's nose and eyes!

For that reason my daughter always got something painted on her arm instead of her face. Most painters are fine with that and it's not really an unusual request. And best of all- the kid can SEE the artwork. Think about it -- with face paint the child cannot see how he or she looks!

My kid is 11 now and not interested in face paint except if it's part of a costume for Halloween, and then she knows we'll be doing it at home. She's old enough to think about the germ issues for herself and thinks it's gross now!

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E.T.

answers from Albuquerque on

As long as the paint doesn't get too close to my kids eyes (because washing it off is AWFUL), I'm ok with face paint. I don't love when they paint their own faces at the Childrens Museum and it's all purple or some weird colors, but I figure it's expressing their creativity.

1 mom found this helpful

T.M.

answers from Redding on

I think the only people that have issue with face paint are the ones that believe the chemicals in the paint are toxic.

1 mom found this helpful
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V.P.

answers from Columbus on

Ha! You should have my kids -- they hate it, I think it can be cute. But I am glad they never want it because I can't stand when it gets on clothes!

1 mom found this helpful

L.B.

answers from Biloxi on

I love a flower or a peace sign or something painted on my face at festivals - something fun and small(ish).

My son is still, at 16) embarrassed by M. when I have my face painted. He has never, in his entire life, had anything painted on his face. LOL

I am Emmy
Zachary is you

There are at least two
in every family.

LOL

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J.P.

answers from Lakeland on

I bought our own kit at Michaels because I always tell my daughter no when we are out. I paint her face for her at home when she wants but she doesn’t usually want anything extreme.

I don’t love it but she has fun when I put butterflies or angels on her face.

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☆.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Thank the LORD mine has NEVER been "into" getting face paint!
Secretly, I hate it too! :)
(Like when you're in a store or something and a kit has a whole kitty-face thing going on? Ewe. lol)

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A.T.

answers from New York on

I think its fine when it's done right. I hate it when it's done incorrectly and the paint brush has been on 200 previous faces and my kid breaks out. Yuck!
There are some people who use the same brush on all these little faces and then there are those who are a bit more health concious I guess and do it with disposable sponges and q-tips. But all in all, not a big fan.

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J.S.

answers from Hartford on

I can't let my kids wear face paint, unfortunately. It burns their skin. Plus they hate clowns and people that wear face paint because it scares them, so they hate the idea of putting it on themselves anyway. I don't really have to "not let" them wear it.

I'm so disappointed. :-(

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S.R.

answers from El Paso on

I don't usually like the "full face" face paint, but, alas, the one time we have gone to a face painting booth, that's what she picked. Ugghhh... Oh well. It was free, at least.

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K..

answers from Phoenix on

Anti face paint? Are you people anti pony, rainbow, hugs, and teddy bear, also?

Geez, lighten the frick up already!! What exactly do you think is on a brush that's been used on other 6 year old? The plague?! Wow.

If it makes my kid happy, then I am all for it. It all washes off at the end of the day. Not to mention, don't you send your kids to school into a petri dish every day? I'd consider that a lot less sanitary than face paint.

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