BEFORE USE:

Wash before first use! When brushes are made, the bristles are dipped in sizing – a starch solution that makes the hair stiff and protects it during shipping. It is important to remove this sizing before painting. Rinsing in lukewarm water with a mild soap will do the trick. Work it through gently without bending the bristles.

BRUSH USE:

Never stick your brushes in your water container and leave them there! For starters, the brush is resting on its bristles, which are the most valuable and delicate part. Then the water is soaking into the wood of the handle and the glue that holds the bristles in.

Never store your brushes on their bristles!.

Try to load your brush with a back & forth motion, rather than round and round, as the latter gets the bristles twisted around.

You should have brushes that you use only for face painting. Do no use brushes that you also use for other painting or craft activities.

BRUSH CLEANING:

Your brushes are an investment. By cleaning them thoroughly and properly at the end of a painting session, they will last longer.

Never leave your brushes to soak!

1.  Wipe off any excess paint onto a paper towel or tissue. You can give a gently squeeze but be careful to avoid pulling on the bristles.

2.  Rinse the brush in cool water. Hot water will set the paint in can cause the ferrule to expand, allowing the hairs to fall out.

3.  Then wash thoroughly a mild soap or brush cleaner. Using a back and forth motion, stroke the brush gently into the soap or brush cleaner and work up a lather. Rinse and repeat until there’s no trace of any color coming out. Over time, or from certain colours, a brush may become stained, but don’t stop rinsing until you’re sure there’s no paint left. Never use a lot of pressure to force paint out of a brush.

4.  Give a final rinse in clean, lukewarm water to remove any traces of soap. Use your fingers to gently shape the brush head into its correct shape. If necessary, wrap the bristles in a piece of tissue while the brush is still wet. When the paper dries it’ll contract, pulling the bristles into shape. Misshapen synthetic brushes can sometimes be reshaped by soaking them in hot water (not boiling).

5.  Let the brush dry at room temperature being mindful that the bristles are not lying against any surface that might misshape the brush. Don’t stand it up to dry either, or water will go down into the ferrule, weakening the part that holds the bristles to the handle. Lay them flat on an old cloth to dry.

You must first rinse your sponges in cold to lukewarm water. Hot water will set the paint in! You can then hand wash with a regular, mild soap, working it well in. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Rinse well to get all the soap out.

After washing my sponges, I like to disinfect them by a short soak in boiling water and dry them in the sunshine. I put them in a delicates bag – a net bag that zips up to hang them on the line; then I can just pop the whole bag in my kit.

If you use a disinfectant like Miltons or bleach, you’d want to be sure none remains in the sponge when you use it.

Always store your products in a moderate temperature, free from moisture and dust or other possible contaminants. Don’t leave them in a hot car!

Do not pack away your face paint while it is still wet. You can blot excess water away with a clean tissue, then allow it to dry, loosely covered.

All high quality make-up is manufactured with anti-bacterial ingredients, but over time, putting it away still wet will cause problems by creating more bacteria than the anti-bacterial ingredients can handle.

A professional palette case, or even a plastic document case is ideal for storing your paints. You don’t need the individual lids, which saves much time setting up and packing away, and because they aren’t as airtight as the lids, if your paint is slightly damp when you pack it away, it is better able to dry out.

You should never have a ‘puddle’ of water in your cake. Quality make-up has preservatives in it to kill bacteria, mould and yeast, but is not designed to be ‘submerged’ in water for extended lengths of time. Excess water added to your face paint will soak into the cake and eventually it will all become soft and gluggy. This seems to most often be an issue when using the 90g cakes. The simple solution is to utilize the smaller container supplied at the bottom of the 90g container. Using a clean knife, simply scoop some paint from your 90g container into your 30/32g container, and work from the smaller container, using the larger one only to refill the smaller one you’re working from. Thus the bulk of your paint doesn’t get gloopy and stays clean.

Cracks may form in the cakes. These cracks have no effect on the makeup and do not mean the make-up is drying out.