Homemade Face Paint Tutorial – So Safe You Can Eat It!
Sometimes, after you’ve seen more . . .
Than your fair share of frog gonads filled with eggs, you just might begin to feel a bit paranoid. You may find yourself making your own shampoo because, yeah, you happen to think future generations of men should get to have descended testicles and stuff (thanks a lot, parabens!)
You may stop by the market to pick up parmesan for these healthy chicken nuggets and realize the store is out of organic, grab your smart phone and Google the country of origin on every available package until you find one that’s banned GMO’s (it’s Switzerland, if you couldn’t find it).
Then one day, in the hullabaloo of a local fair, you might decide to let go for just a moment. When the hubs mentions there’s face painting you chirp, “Let’s do it!”
Sure, you’re doing the equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and singing “LA! LA! LAAAAA!” as your inner self reads you the riot act. You will not google it. You will not wipe them down immediately. You. will. CHILL.
And then when you get home. . .
You will tuck your littles into bed, crack open your laptop for a little Facebook fix only to immediately come across an article by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reporting that 10 out of 10 face paints tested positive for lead and 6 out of 10 tested positive for other toxic heavy metals (source).
Perfect.
Well, at least now you have a good reason to have a little fun at home with these easy DIY face paints! They’re safe enough to eat, though I can’t say they taste very good. 
DIY Face Paint
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons non-GMO cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 1/4 teaspoon refined white flour (yes I had to go buy some!) plus extra for dusting the face so that it is not ooey gooey
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon water
- Natural food coloring (can usually be found at a well-stocked health food store)
- activated charcoal if black face paint is desired (see notes for how to make white base makeup)
Method:
- Mix flour and cornstarch/arrowroot together in a small bowl
- Add honey and water
- Divide mixture into several cups, then add a few drops of food coloring to each cup until it has reached the color intensity you desire
- Paint your design (have fun and smile!), then wait for it to set. This should take 15-30 minutes.
- Once set, take a makeup brush and dust a little white flour over your face to create a matte finish. This is optional – we didn’t do it – but I did test it to make sure it would prevent smearing in little ones who are likely to touch their faces.
A Few Notes . . .
These paints are more like a thick gloss than watercolors.
My “blue” from India Tree was really more of a green. I could never get a true blue out of it. Also, for dark brown/black mix a smidge of all the colors together and added a little activated charcoal. It’s very non-toxic (you can actually find capsules of it in the supplement aisle because it’s used for detoxing.)
Some colors (like yellow and pink) will not show up well without white base makeup. To whip up your own, mix non-tosic lotion with a little non-nano zinc, or buy some organic diaper cream at the store that contains non-nano zine. (Wondering what the heck non-nano zinc is? This article may help). Wait until the mixture dries before applying other paints.
And finally, here’s a little color chart you might find helpful:
Yellow + Blue = Green
Blue + Red = Purple
Red + Yellow = Orange
Pink = Just a couple drops of red.
Sara Gordon
Do you have a source or brand for a non-GMO cornstarch?
Heather
I use Rumford – the label has “Non Genetically-Modified” in giant letters on the front
Candice
I read that your skin absorbs around 60% of what you put on it or swim in so I wonder if there is a way to make it without flour … or even if flour would be absorbed?
Heather
The flour would be absorbed so it is not recommended for anyone with a wheat sensitivity. Unfortunately the flour is what “holds” the color to the face and it is basically translucent without it. I tried it with coconut flour but it was too gritty. A flour made out of ground navy beans might work but I haven’t tried it. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Courtney @ The Polivka Family
Cute Heather!
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Leah
Heather you are too funny… we are all right there with you!! every time I try to “chill” it smacks me in the face and gives me a few tosses and turns before I sleep and then I think about your epi-genetics aticle ..
Aussie Liz
I was giggling as I read this because that is me to a tea! I must admit I do get REALLY sick of having to be so watchful all the time…and why should we have to???? Why can’t we trust the products we eat, breathe, apply to our skin NOT to kill us, or alter us for the worst? It is truly ridiculous. That said I did find the mirror you held to me quit amusing – thanks for the giggle and HUGE thanks for the recipe!
Tiffany @ The Coconut Mama
I know you already know this, but your kids are adorable!
I love the idea of DIY face paint. I would think arrowroot or cornstarch would work in place of the white flour for someone who didn’t want to use flour.
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Heather
Thank you, Tiffany! Unfortunately, the arrowroot/cornstarch doesn’t hold color very well so the flour is pretty essential. I tried glycerin, lotion and just about everything else to avoid using flour (since I know there are those that can’t) but could never get the color to set. I did have some success with coconut flour but it was pretty gritty so I didn’t work with it much
Jenny
My little guy sets up a little table and paints faces at our farmers market as part of our Sprouts program which is designed to get kids into the entrepreneurial spirit of the market. We wanted him to make his own face paint but were at a loss. This is great!
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Heather
LOVE the idea of a Sprouts program, Jenny! I can’t tell you how many times this year I’ve regretted not having anything to sell at our market just so Katie could have the experience of helping out. I think I’ll mention this to our coordinator and see what she thinks!
Amy
While I think it is great there are safe home made alternatives for mom’s to use the articles sited do not list the paints they tested and sound like they really only looked at the cheap stuff you buy in the seasonal section of any store at Halloween.
Please know that the major professional face paint companies have put a lot of effort into the safety of their products and Snazaroo which can be purchased at your local Micheal’s and possibly other craft stores has done quite a bit of research to ensure the safety of their product which can be found here. http://www.snazaroo.us/safety.htm This being said before you purchase face paint at a fair be sure the products they are using are safe for you and your child. Some people still use craft paints on kids and some professional paints include ingredients such as coconut oil.
Amanda Ronco
Heather—this is so appalling. Thank you for shedding light on this matter.
Amy—I want to gently ask you if you checked out the report? I thought the same thing you did, until I opened the actual report. I only had time to glance through it, but perhaps you should double-check it. They tested a face painting kit by “Snazaroo” which you mentioned in your comment (see page 8 of the 36 page document).
Have fun and be safe everyone :0)
Heather@DiaryofaSmallTownEarthMuffin
Thanks! This worked great!
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Lindsey
Do you think this would stay good in the fridge for a couple of days? Or should it be made and used up right away?
Daniel
Lindsey, it would likely dry out and wouldn’t be easy to spread.