As more and more parents turn to tempera paint as a quick and easy way to help them keep their children entertained, we have noticed more and more people reaching out to ask various questions about having tempera paint on their skin. With the surge in popularity that tempera paint is having right now looking like it will continue, we wanted to publish this article to help our readers.
Our hope is that we will be able to help our readers get tempera paint off their skin easily while also understanding the potential downsides of having tempera paint on their skin too. If you are having arts and crafts sessions with tempera paint with your children to keep them entertained then there is a good chance that your children will end up with at least some of the paint on them and this is totally normal.
As we see so many slightly different questions about having tempera paint on human skin, we have added a table of contents below. This will allow us to go over the various questions that we see the community asking about on a regular basis while also ensuring that you can quickly and easily navigate to the required sections of the article without wasting time.
Can You Use Tempera Paint On Skin?
Although tempera paint will take hold on human skin, it does not use a cosmetic grade pigment so it is likely that it will stain your skin if not washed off quickly. Thankfully, this stain will usually fade within a day or can be washed off with a little scrubbing with warm soapy water.
We usually recommend that our readers always use a decent tempera paint for their arts and crafts sessions over the lower quality sets on the market. Although they are at a very similar price point, the decent paint sets in the tempera range are much easier to wash off human skin.
Depending on the age of the children that you are painting with, it can be very likely that they will end up with tempera paint on them. You can have a sponge with some warm soapy water on it near you during your arts and crafts session and try to turn washing the paint of your child into a game to make the process easier to let you wash it off as quickly as possible.
Is Tempera Paint Safe On Skin?
Although tempera paint is technically safe on skin and is not toxic, it can stain your skin if it is left on for an extended period of time. Due to this, we always recommend that you try to wash it off within a few minutes if possible to avoid the pigment staining the skin.
There is no need to worry if you are not able to wash the paint off within a few minutes though. If you are able to focus on the area that is stained by the paint after the initial removal of the actual paint, you should be able to wash the stain off to with minimal issues.
As with most things in the arts and crafts space though, you should do everything possible to ensure that the tempera paint avoids contact with eyes and is not infested. Although the majority of tempera paint formulas are relatively safe when it comes to paint formulas, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Is Tempera Paint Washable On Skin?
Tempera paint is very easy to wash off human skin even if it has been left to dry. The majority of the time, some warm soapy water on a sponge should easily be able to wash the paint off without any problems. If the pigment in the paint has left a stain then a little scrubbing with the sponge should be able to remove it if needed.
Depending on the situation, you can leave the stain left on the skin by the pigment and it will naturally fade within a few days. If you do have a young child that doesn’t like you scrubbing the area of their skin with the stain then this may be a better route to take.
When it comes to the majority of decent tempera paint formulas on the market, there is no need to use a paint remover. A small amount of soap with some warm water should easily be enough to get the job done with minimal inconvenience or irritation to the skin.
What Paint Is Safe To Use On Skin?
Face paint or skin paint is usually the best option for use on human skin as the formula has been specifically designed for this purpose. The pigments shouldn’t stain your skin and the paint should be able to move with your skin easier without cracking.
Thankfully, decent face and skin paint is considerably cheaper than it used to be allowing all budgets to add some to their collection if needed. The majority of modern face and skin paint sets come with everything you need for high quality, temporary body art.
This is perfect for parties and other occasions where you want to apply paint to your skin. The specific formulas used in face and skin paint overcome all of the weaknesses of tempera paint when used on skin and should always be used in its place.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over having tempera paint on your skin to a close. Although it is very common that people will end up getting some tempera paint on their skin, there is no need to worry as the chances of any irritation or serious issues are slim to none and the paint will wash off very easily.
