Making the design stay longer

Hello all,

I am wondering, when doing a design that needs to wear longer like, a party design or something a girl would wear to prom, what(if anything) can you spray on or use to make the paint last . I painted my son's girlfriend for homecoming, she was beautiful but did have a little prob with smudging after she got hot from dancing. I have seen a couple of different things on the market but would really value an oppinion from a more experienced artist. Thank you.

I'm not an experienced painter but I did use some Ben nye liquiseal and finalseal for a dance troupe who were involved in a parade . It stayed on from 1 until their performance at 8 that night. I didn't see it myself but was told that there was no problem with it sweating off and in fact some of the girls slept in it and wore it for a performance the next day.( though I wonder how good it looked then!)

Thanks Tigerlily

You can also try the barrier spray from Mehron. It fixes and seals. I can't sell it though as you can't ship liquids through the mail.

-Metina

Thanks Metina, and thank you so much for this forum!

I use Mheron Barrier Spray. If it's not on the face you can use Aqua-net Hairspray.

Looks like there are:
Ben Nye, Kryolan, and Mehron

Can anyone compare them?

I have only used the Ben Nye and good ole hair spray

I am definitely going to get some Auqa Net, I am going to try some body painting soon and think it is too cool that you can use hair spray. I'll check out the other for face use. This will make the people I paint much happier with the results I'm sure. Thanks so much.

I've used cheap hair spray too. LOL! I was wondering if/which professional product worked the best.

I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which is ultra- humid most of the year. The hair spray is useless but I've used the Mehron barrier spray with some success. If it's 100 degrees and 100% humidity, forget it-- nothing's going to help!

Thanks so much squiggle Your avatar is amazing by the way.

Yep barrier spray is the best, but hairspray works in a pinch.

I have the Ben Nye as well. I've not been around long enough to see how the paint holds up, but the painter that I bought them from said if you use liquiseal instead of water to activate the paint, it lasts like nobody's business. Or add some to your clean water and it helps.

That's true. I painted a gold helmet on my dad for St. Patrick's day at a festival that was blazing hot and it didn't even smudge at all. It stayed perfect all day long.

Does the hairspray feel "sticky" ?
I can't imagine it feels too nice on a hot day to be covered in the stuff!!
I didnt find the final seal felt sticky but the sprayer was useless.
I had a look at the kryolan which is in an aerosol, but it smelt too chemically (or was it alcohol-y i cant remember) and I didnt want to use it on the kids faces.
I did read somewhere that you can use Visine eyedrops to get eyemakeup to stay.
Has anyone tried that? I like the idea, cos obviously it is made for use around the eyes and would be safe for the face (and fairly inexpensive too!)

by the way your avatar looks amazing!

I don't use any barrier sprays. I don't like the chemicals. And I have never felt it necessary, even on a design that needs to hold.

If I want a design to hold I use theatrical cream make-up and powder to set it. I know from personal experience that it will hold all day...and I mean all day! I once wore it for 22 hours and it looked fresh until I removed it.

Another alternative is tattoo inks.

Just throwing this out there, but what I use to keep designs from smudging and to make them waterproof is Spray on Bandage from any drugstore. It's hypoallergenic so you don't have to worry about any skin reactions that can easily be caused by some hairsprays and it's (generally) cheaper and easier to get ahold of than products from a major company like Ben Nye or Mehron in a pinch.

I don't really recommend using it on the face, because, really, who likes being sprayed in the face with stuff? I also recommend testing it out on yourself first to get a feel for how best to apply it. Aerosol spray on bandage will not apply in the same fashion as a pump bottle. It is best to practice to make sure you don't apply too much and make the design run.