Practice on your own face?

I have been hobby face painting for a few years now, and am slowly stepping up the complexity of my designs. I see alot of you practice on your own faces. Do you think this helps when painting others? Or is the better bet to get a practice head?

So far I've been practicing on wax paper and my arms and thighs. My own face gets made up when I'm trying to figure out a contour for a design, or else how soft/rough a new kind of sponge or brush feels, so I'll know if it's gentle enough to use on someone else.

I haven't used a practice head yet, but I'm sure it'd be useful. You can only get your friends and family to sit as models so many times before they go on strike.

i tried practicing on my own face but it's kind of the opposite of painting someone else - your brush is aimed in the opposite direction, you are looking in a mirror, it is much slower.

so i don't think it is useful for developing on-the-job skills. more useful for those who do tutorials.

i got a practice "face shell" that slips over a head, i use it on a cheap styrofoam head.
practice heads and faces are notorious for staining, need to scrub with rubbing alcohol and scrubbing sponge.

i find my arm is the best medium - real skin, i can point my brush in the right direction, cleans off easily.
the downside is there's not a lot of real estate for larger designs, lol.

the new plastic practice sheets get good reviews.

Meadowlark wrote:
You can only get your friends and family to sit as models so many times before they go on strike.

HA HA HA - love this line - it is so true. My kids have told me no more - I tried to get my husband to sit down and let me practice on him - but that was a no go! He is bald and I told him I would just paint his head! (he did not like that comment!)

anywhoo - thanks for the advice!