FACE PAINTING HYGIENE

Guidelines from Royal Caribbean for facepainters. Do you think these request are okay? Especially the one with "not use makeup from the container" I would think would be hard to do in real life. What do you think?

Many different forms of bacteria can be spread from the skin and make-up provides the perfect breeding ground.
Please follow the following steps to prevent spreading bacteria:

Hands must be sanitized after each person. Hands may be sanitized with a hand sanitizer or hand
sanitizing wipe. If you have any visible cuts or scores on your hands, please wear disposable gloves.

Brushes must be sanitized after each person. There are disposable brushes, and disposable disinfectant brush
wipes that sterilize brushes.

Sponges must be discarded after each person. It's recommended that you bring a minimum of 40 disposable
sponges per two hour face painting session, which can be purchased at Walgreens, Walmart, and beauty supply
stores.

The sanitization of hands and brushes and the discarding of sponges should be done in an exaggerated manner
so the parents, ship's staff, and children will know this has been done after each person.
Keep make-up kit clean. If a pressed powder shatters and goes everywhere, clean it up!

If you wash with soap and water, or your brush cleanser is not a disinfectant, a quick dunk in some rubbing
alcohol will kill any germs.

Do not use make-up straight from container. Put a small amount on a palette and use it from there.

If the color or smell of the make-up changes discard it!

Never use eye products like mascara. Eye infections spread very easily this way.

Any infectious condition must be dealt with carefully so as not to put yourself or others at risk of infection.
Disposable brushes should be used on cold sores and disposed of correctly.

Hands should be washed, and seen to be washed, between each face painting. A small bottle of hand disinfectant
is useful.

Follow these tips to keep germs at bay. Although brushes are amazing, use disposable applicators when
possible. These include sponges, Q-tips, etc. Discard after a single use. To clean brushes, wash with water
alcohol or a brush sanitizer.

Like I commented on the other forums... I work to meet health regulations similar to this already. Other than I do not remove paint from my cakes to a palette. I have always used clean brushes and sponges on every person.

Thing is these guidelines are simply a knee-jerk reaction to something - and the cruise ships are floating Norovirus petri dishes anyway, have been for years. This is simply another way they are "pretending" to deal with it.

We last cruised in 2003 and the ship was rife with Norovirus, they were spraying crap everywhere, made all the passengers use hand santizers and/or wipes before entering any of the food areas... was a bloody joke really. They lied about there being sick people on the ship the trip prior to ours, then lied about the staff being ill claiming that they were "immune" - when sick bay was full of food-handlers with it!

Painters who want to to these cruises will have to decide if they want to try to get the cruise line to provide the sanitizers and alcohol - difficult to put those in carry-on luggage as you can't take them on the plane.

As I wrote: it is also the part with removing the paint, that would seem not to be practical. Because then you would have to have a clean palette for each as well, and goodbye to slit cakes.

Exactly... how the paint is removed, or even if it isn't! Some kids won't wash it off for days...

If you think about it....if you are dipping a clean sterile brush into the paint...no problem...but as soon as you make the first skin contact....truthfully, to keep the dish sterile, you'd have to wash and sterilze it again before making another 'load' onto the brush.

So really, since you dip repeatedly for each person as you work on them, unless you are sterilizing the top layers of the face painting make up, even cleaning/sterilizing your brushes between clients is pointless! Well it looks good for the clients...unless they think about the face that that brush was dipped repeatedly into the make up cake! haha

I still think that they need to make make up in tubes and then we can squeeze out some colors (like using regular oil paints) onto a pallet for each client, then you just wipe off the extra, sterilize wipe the pallet, and then squeeze out new colors for the next client. It would just be a matter of learning how to squeeze out just enough to do the design they want to minimize waste of paints. The pre liquid state would actually speed up painting and then you wouldn't have to have so many harsh preservatives in the paints (another issue with some moms) because you never contaminate the container.

But that's just my opinion. It would satisfy some of the more stringent regulations that folks like Shannon and cruise painters have to deal with!

But in general liquid makeup has a shorter shelf life than solid ones. Else I like the idea =)

I have been painting on the cruises - and would love to do so again - but these rules are new.

I'm also worried how your skin would fell if you had to sanitize it after everyone.

Yes, it would have a shorter shelf life, but since you have to squeeze out the makeup, you will probably go through it faster! So make small tubes, that you can 'use up' within the expiration date fairly easily. Small, hopefully less expensive tubes!

Other than that, they do sell powder pigments that you can 'mix on the spot' with water on your pallet...but then you are having the whole time consuming 'mixing' issue!

Yea, the sterilizing after every person...you will need to do like Shannon does...have a set of brushes that once you sterilize them, they need to be 'out of play' drying. So you would need to double or triple your brushes! Once they are dry, they should have evaporated enough of the sterilizing agent to not be a problem.

SO many things to consider!

Good luck if you get a cruise gig. I'm still freaked out by the TV special where they took black lights into the rooms and showed you what was STILL on everything, eventhough supposedly it was just cleaned...like OMG yucky! I will never go on a cruise now!!

Heather Timmons wrote:
Good luck if you get a cruise gig. I'm still freaked out by the TV special where they took black lights into the rooms and showed you what was STILL on everything, eventhough supposedly it was just cleaned...like OMG yucky! I will never go on a cruise now!!

My in-laws have just jetted off today for a Carribean cruise

Glenda

Hehe...let me GUESS how much advarace was in that 'in laws just left for a cruise'...haha /wink

Heather Timmons wrote:I still think that they need to make make up in tubes and then we can squeeze out some colors (like using regular oil paints) onto a pallet for each client, then you just wipe off the extra, sterilize wipe the pallet, and then squeeze out new colors for the next client. It would just be a matter of learning how to squeeze out just enough to do the design they want to minimize waste of paints.

There already is.... Fardel AND Fantasy Worldwide sell their creams in pumps (exactly like toothpaste pumps) - I love 'em! But, don't use them on the job as there is a lot of waste - I keep them for body painting and night clubs.

Oh sweet Shannon! I might have to grab a few in white, pink and blue to do the 'easy double dip' flowers and to keep on hand for really picky clients!

Glad to hear they work well! I need to spend more time looking into what other paints are already out there!

Well there you go 'cruise boat' painters...buy a small easy clean/sterilize plastic pallet and some squirty paints. Then you can just use tiny amounts for each client and you are clean and sterile 100% Just be sure to use Shannon's brush sterilize and hand cleaner techniques. I'd also tell the cruise lines they are paying you a premium to go through all this hassle!

The cruise lines don't pay Heather... you get a "free" cruise for two but need to pay the agency - Sixth Star -a fee of something like $10-30 per day(can't remember), and you need to get to the ship at your own expense, and I think you still need to tip as you considered a "guest" as far as the staff on the ship are concerned.

I looked at working with Sixth Star a few years ago. I was ready to go...until...I started getting really rubbed the wrong way about having to pay them that daily fee....and tip. Then there was something really condescending about their emails. I'm no softy, and I'm old enough to not be thin-skinned, but something about them pushed me over the edge and I (kinda unprofessionally) backed out.

I looked at the application form... once I got to the "administration fee" that YOU pay THEM... I didn't bother filling it in.

Sure, you get to cruise for "free" sort of - you still have to work!

As for using hand sanitizer, make sure you are using the "non" alcohol kind. It's the alcohol in the sanitizers that will dry out your skin. Also ensure that you are washing your hands after the event with a gentle soap and then moisturize. Using the moisturizer will ensure that your hands are not drying out from over washing. I do use sanitizer between each person I paint, I live within the same province as Shannon and the standards are very strict.

So I shouldn't get notions about paying our way on a cruise for a romantic vacation for two...hehe...not that I'd be able to get past the visual images that TV special left on my brain! haha

I use an organic hand sanitizer from our local health food store. It has moisturizer in it and smells like lemons. Very nice!

I'm petrified of hand sanitizer ever since reading this http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp

I don't think it is good for you too drink soap either ;-)

Yeah, but soap won't KILL you... and little kids don't know any better. The couple of times I've used sanitizer on my kids hands, I didn't let go of their wrists until it was dry.

Bath and Body works also makes a lotion that has sanitizer in it. I don't know about you guys, but having read all of this it all seems to OTT.

You have to pay a daily fee, tip and pay to get there and then they want you to pay all this extra money for all of the equipment they want you to use. It is just seems that face painting is going to start becoming a target like so many other things. I wouldn't touch this gig, but can totally understand the desire to.

I feel like I would always be walking around on the ship with a target on my back.

There is so little work involved (and I like to paint, so it is not like it is really working), so I just think of it as a cheap vacation. I would have to save up a lot to be able to go on a cruise like this. And even the cabins are some of the smallest ones, they are still almost the size of my apartment (and a whole lot bigger than the one the normal cruise staff have!), the food is great and both people and crew really nice. Sure there is a lot of rules, but there is still less than the normal staff on the ship.
Plus I have learned to say "what would you like?", "butterfly, tiger, prinsess monster (and so on)", plus the colours and other really practical things in Spanish and Italian ;-)
I don't know about how the flight prizes are in the states, but here it cost almost the same going to Copenhagen, as to Rome!

Make sure you get a great tan and take some photos for us. Let us know how it turns out. We'll all start doing the cruise thing.

I have no plans at the moment going (all the available ones are when I'm already booked), but was on two last year.
Didn't get a tan - since I never do - but did have a lot of fun =)

From the kids Pirate night. What they have on their forehead is a skull with a crown and crossed bones.

Thing is .... I've been on six cruises as a passenger and we booked the air/cruise packages with the cruise line for all of them... the cost for that was CHEAPER than what is being offered to face painters as "free."

Since you still have to get to the ship (add airfare and other expenses until boarding), pay the $30/day fee to the agency, tip the staff as a regular guest, pay for all the usual stuff (drinks, shore excursions, shopping) ... from what I've heard from people who have been on these cruises and taken someone with them, the cost is more than anything I've EVER paid to take a cruise.

Even if it was slightly less... I'd rather just pay and not have the hassle of trying to travel with kit and dealing with working on a ship where you have their rules to follow.

My thoughts exactly. If I remember correctly, my experience was the same. I've been on a few cruises as well. Most of the staff were from countries other then the US, and I think they were kinda used to being treated somewhat off handed. Almost like the the cruise line was doing them a big favor for employing them. Many had worked for years for what would be considered substandard pay and conditions, here in the US.

I'm no stranger to hard work, but whomever I work for understands that I expect fair compensation for the work that I give. I didn't think Sixth Star got it.