The Truth about glitter glues... from the nerd point of view.

Hey all!

I am not, by any means, an expert on body art or glitter tattoos. BUT I have extensive training in theatrical makeup and prosthetic and have used adhesives like pros-aide for years. I thought it may be helpful to share with you guys a couple of things my instructors taught me back in the day.

Pros-aide, and all the like adhesives are first and foremost designed to stick to themselves. I.E. you put a layer on your skin and a layer on whatever you are sticking to you then stick the two layers of adhesive together and bam, semi-permanent stick.
With glitter though we can't work with two layers sticking to each other so we have to adjust.
You all know the skin should be clean and dry and free of oils part. Next the layer needs to be thin and let sit long enough to be tacky, not dry. If it is too dry the glitter won't stick, if it is too thick it will form a layer that is solid and acts like a sheet and will not stick to the skin or the glitter because the molecules will only try to stick to each other to hold the sheet together. So thin layer let it get tacky, not dry, and quick application of glitter afterward. The Oxygen will cause the molecules to form a bond with each other around the surface area of the glitter it comes in contact with and also with the skin on the other side.
The other reason for the thin layer is that it needs to work through the tacky phase to the dry phase as quickly as possible because any moisture at all will interrupt the bonding process. Molecules of water will actually get stuck in between molecules of adhesive and make it impossible for them to bond. When that happens any additional moisture (water/shower/pools) will attract the water molecule in between the adhesive molecules and when it leaves the adhesive is that much weaker.
Taking the stencil off when the adhesive is still wet will encourage the adhesive on the edges of the design to bond with the skin, not the stencil itself which is what causes the lifting on the edges when the stencil is removed.
And lastly, if you are having a hard time with moisture a thin, really really thin, layer of cornstarch type powder can be applied immediately after the alcohol to absorb moisture and also to help keep excess glitter off of the skin around the design. But keep in mind that every addition step you employ before actually putting on the glitter has to be done fast enough to hit that magic "tackiness" where the glitter will actually stick to the glue, so if you find the glue is getting to dry you will either need to speed it up or take out that extra step.

I hope this helps and wasn't just to much 'know-it-all".

#Awesome information!! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!

Thanks know I am understand a little bit more, still don't work properly with mica powder.

Thanks Jenlarouge! This is one of the most informative posts I found on glitter glue. I have one more question...do you have a preference for which glitter glue you use? I've used the y-body, but I was wondering how it stacks up against prosaide and tulip. Also, is there one that's better for free hand?

One thing about prosaide is that in order to remove it effectivly you need you use a special remover or solvent. 99% iso, or other oils won't really do the trick, they help break it down but don't fully remove the glue from the skin.

I know glimmer says they use prosaide for their skin glue, but I also know that that glue removes easier with 99% iso and oils. For this reason I think they are using a version of Prosaide 2 (also know as 'the sequel'). I just ordered a glimmer glitter tat kit, so I'm going to compare the glues when it gets here to see if I'm right in thinking this.

Forest-Fairy - have you been able to do the glue comparison?

Ok yeah it's totally not Prosaide the original. It comes of WAY easier, more like Prosaide 2 IMO.

Can you use prosaide (the original) for glitter tattoos, or do I need to get #2? I have a shop in town that sales the original but I have to order anything else and I'm trying to support local

When I do face painting, I stick to the old soap and water rule. If it can't be removed easily with soap and water I don't put it on the face. Glitter Tats are meant more for arms, so when I do them I also hand out my card which on the back explains how to care for them and how to remove them.

While Original Prosaide does 'work' for glitter tats, I personally wouldn't recommend it. In the industry we use it for face prothetics and other similar heavy duty things. To remove it you need to use a heavy duty solvent like Super Solv, or Bond Off (something non FX makeup artists aren't likely to have under the kitchen sink). While it's true that oils and rubbing alcohol can break the glue down it doesn't fully remove it. So we are talking about having a sticky patch for up to two weeks after the fact unless some serious skin removal scrubbing is involved. :/

Prosaide 2, isn't as strong but the beauty of glitter tats is that you don't need the industry strength of Original Prosaide. Prosaide 2 is juuuuust right to be long lasting enough for a glitter tat, but easy enough to remove with rubbing alcohol that it's not a pain in the butt for the parent later on.

P.S. The backs of my business cards also explain how to care for your face paint and how to remove it. But the best part is I have a practical reason or excuse to hand some one my card.

I do the same thing as you with "soap and water" rule. I don't know how many times I have told parents I will NOT put a glitter tattoo on their child's face

I'm just struggling with the cost of glue I guess. I think I'll take a look around and see if I can get prosaide 2 from a canadian dealer for not too much. I need to stock up before winter