My Hygiene Rules!

I have a strict hygiene regime, which I follow on all of my gigs whether it a small party of 10 kids or a festival for thousands!

Now when I face painted as a volunteer for my local village, I would use about 4 sponges, a handful of brushes and the paint. That was it. I was told to face paint, so I did! If anything ever happened it was covered by their PLI (Public Liability Insurance) I was just a volunteer...but when I decided to make a business from face painting, everything changed. I realised that health and safety were paramount to the face painting world, and it could be me who causes the chicken pox epidemic if I didn't put some rules into place!!

First on my list was obviously my own insurance which I now hold - PLI for up to £5m and I also opted in for Treatment Risk (If anyone should have a reaction to the paint/glue etc).

Next, well of course, it's the actual hygiene!

My Hygiene Rules:

One sponge per face - To eliminate risk of cross contamination
Change water regularly - Using clean water is not only better for my brushes, but also better for the paint and again, cross contamination
Three pot rule - I have at least three water bowls. One to rinse the most paint off, one with Milton (I use a very diluted amount of Milton Sterilising Liquid in a seperate bowl to clean & sterilise my brushes between children) and one for a final rinse.
Hand Gel - I like to keep a small bottle of hand gel on my table to use not only on myself but others if needed.
Mucky Faces - I ask parents to give their child's face a quick wipe before sitting in the painting seat. Baby wipes are available for them to use.
Bobby Pins/Hair Grips - I like to use bobby pins/hair grips to pin back stray hair when painting on children. I do not use a hair band of scrunchie's as these can house head lice (nits) which I could potentially then transfer to each child. However with the use of bobby pins/hair grips the child can take these away with them. Double prize for them!
Clean Kit - My entire kit is cleaned after every gig. The paints are left open to dry out completely and wiped with antibacterial wipe, my brushes are soaked in diluted Milton, then rinsed completely, Any water left in my spray bottle is tipped out and the bottle is cleaned, my sponges are washed at 90 degrees and air dried.