Hygiene- Sponges, Brushes, and Brush Bath

In a recent great tip from Sniffin_Glitter on sponges, I had some follow up questions on hygiene.
Do most use a new sponge for each child. As a follow up to that, do you just use one or two brushes per session, and just keep swishing them out, or as some suggest, one brush for each color and not to rinse them.

A final part to this is, do you feel that the 3 drops of Brush Bath in your spray bottle takes care of the possible "germs" I'm sure these items have come up before, but as a newbie to this forum, I would like some good advice from the experts. - Thanks, love the Forum

no expert here, but for me, I keep a huge bag of clean sponges clipped to the side of my fatmax. one sponge per child. then I toss it into a designated "dirty" bag that gets tossed into the washing machine along with the black towel I use over my leg to soak up excess water, paint, etc.

As for brushes, I try to use one per color but if I clean it while I'm working I put it through 3 cleaning baths: #1 pot has brush bath, then a rinse in #2 pot, and then the final rinse in #3. I keep antibacterial wet wipes and if I'm concerned about a brush, after I've put it through the 3-pot ringer, lol, I'll rub it back and forth on the antibacterial wet wipe and then dip it again in the #3 clean water. but that's just me.

i use one sponge per colour but rise the brush every face and colour. Uses less paint (because sponge absorbs more paint then is needed) and i clean sponges after every gig.

I use a new sponge/s for each child. I also pour clean water for each child

I have a bucket that I use for my dirties.

I'm a one sponge/face and rinse my brushes between each as well. Have a ton of sponges/brushes so it's no prob and makes me feel better with the hygiene.

There's a lot of info on here about hygiene, disinfecting & cleaning your kit, paints & supplies. Do a search on the topic you are looking for.

I will not use Brush Bath because it has Tea Tree Oil in it & may cause an allergic reaction. I'm allergic to Brush Bath & rash up nicely from it. You should not add anything(brush bath, baby shampoo, alcohol, etc) to your water as you are more likely to cause bacteria growth.

I use one sponge per child at FESTIVALS and public events. At birthday parties, I do not. Those kids are hugging and playing and picking each others noses anyway, so I use one sponge for COLOR at parties.
For brushes, I have 2 of each #2,4 and 6 (one each for black and white) and I wash the other brushes in between each,

At small events I use one sponge per child. I always thought it was best but I would have 100s of sponges at big events. As i started looking into it I found a lot of people and even some pros use only one sponge per color so at big festivals and fairs i now do that. I like it much better. I wash my sponges at the end of each day. I have 3 #4s ( lowe cornell) I have one for white, one for black, and one for colors. I also have a few back up brushes in other sizes just for my white. I find having a separate white and lack brush help keep my other colors nicer at big event and keeps my white very crisp. I don't add anything to my water but I wash my brushes often ( not between every child) But as they need it and I condition and sanitize them daily with the fairs and such

Very helpful information to digest, as I decide how to proceed in the new year. I have been using the brush bath in my spray bottle as my only water source thinking it was keeping everything, sponges and brushes clean as far as bacteria etc...throughout the gig. When I clean between gigs, I use antibacterial hand soap and very hot water to disinfect.

Melody - picking each others noses LOL

I use clean sponges AND brushes on every single person. Here are the Health Regulations for my province
http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/publichealth/envhealth/program_areas/special_events/documents/Requirements_for_Personal_Services_at_Special_Events_&_Trade_Shows_2007.pdf

As noted there are quite a few threads on here that go into a lot of detail on this topic.

I use fresh sponge/s per face, I have been told not to add anything to my water and I rinse my brushes inbetween (I do carry huge amount of brushes and sponges) . I think the base creates a barrier to the skin so the brush work does not touch fresh skin. Water pots I use a 4 system, one is just for white paint.

I also never go back into a paint with a sponge I have loaded, but there are many ways out their and each to their own I would struggle with the rules Shannon has to abide by.

I would struggle with the rules Shannon has to abide by... Do you have to have a handwash station Shannon?

Having asked at all of the local pharmacies, I can't get isopropyl alcohol without some sort of medical licence...


I use a fresh sponge per child, and use mainly car wash sponges for affordability... I don't use a new brush per child, I can't afford that, so I stick to one brush per colour.

At large public festivals - yes, handwash station is there - consisting of one of those large coolers with the tap, soap, paper towels, waste containers.

I can buy Isopropyl anywhere - dept stores, grocery stores, drug stores.... 70, 90 and 99%.

And while I do have 100s of brushes I only take about 35-40 with me and tend to use the same dozen over and over as they dry.

I just bought some brushes that I think Im really going to like..I want to take care of the tips and the handles which happen to be wooden (yikes) Ive searched the sites on here, but couldnt find much on brush care and hygiene. Any thoughts thanks

EMERALD!!! How awesome! Told you youd love this place. =0)

I use brush bath to, the bottle alone makes mommies seem more at ease sometimes. I honestly just dont want to mess with three bowls of cleaner/water for time efforts AND remembering which bowl is for what. Kudos to you for doing though!

I use Qtips for lipstick and ONE brush for black and white. My other brushes I rinse in between uses, my sponges vary on the crowds. If there is a lot of people I use per color, otherwise I normally grab a fresh one for each person.

Paint your wooden brush handles with nail polish... seals them completely.

Thanks Shannon that is more what I am looking for...Do you have a special soap for cleaning brush stains from the red, orange and black paint off?? I was reading here also not to dry them tips up, so I am guessing its flat.

@Emerald, Does the hot water seem to make your brushes fall apart faster?

I was told NOT use very hot water on my brushes. Hot water can expand the ferrule and the bristles will start to fall out.

Anyone know anything about this?

vegas mom wrote:Thanks Shannon that is more what I am looking for...Do you have a special soap for cleaning brush stains from the red, orange and black paint off?? I was reading here also not to dry them tips up, so I am guessing its flat.

Are you talking the brush handle or the loofe (hair)? SOS pad to scrub paint off the handles... Purity soap for the brush.


http://www.facepaintforum.com/t10157-purity-soap-by-reef-botanicals


http://shannonfennell.wordpress.com/2012/03/23/squeaky-clean/

I use one sponge per colour (not painting on any sores or open/infected areas of course) and rinse the brushes between uses. I spray the paint rather than redip the brushes and clean the brushes and sponges throughly between events.

http://www.facepaintforum.com/t3665-sanatization-of-sponges-brushes-paintshow-to?highlight=cleaning+brushes

I was trained and worked for Enjoy Your Face Inc. Face Painting company I worked for the Disney and Universal Studios parks. Learning from them I use one sponge per color for the entire gig and clean my painting bin during down time. I also change the water out a lot and rinse the brushes after each color and every child and adult. I have never had complaints about bad hygiene or any complaints about how I keep my paints. Most parents are more concerned about their child having an allergic reaction then eeeewww that sponge touched someone else's face. I wash the sponges with dish soap and warm water same with the brushes and dry them out when I'm done. I've never has a problem with bacteria or other kids getting sick from another.

Just don't paint any kids with obvious skin problems or around the nose if the child has a cold. If you suspect pink eye tell the parent that you don't want to paint near the eyes or around the eye area because you don't want to agitate the area further. Lie a little about the paint a little if a teen has really oily zit covered faces since painting over it "could" agitate the skin further, even though it won't. Along with any cuts or scabs on the face if the parent wants or insists that you paint over it use a q-tip once over it then throw it away.

Just little tips and things I picked up from Face Painting at the major theme parks.