Attend any family friendly event these days, and you're pretty much guaranteed to encounter a friendly face painter spreading colour and fun amongst the crowds.
The face painting industry has absolutely sky-rocketed in the last ten years, encouraging more emerging artists to give it a red-hot-go and at the same time creating greater expectations from clients for unprecedented levels of customer service and artwork.
But with so many possibilities available to us now, from the “arty-mum-who-can-help-out-at-the-next-kindy-event” (which hey, is where a lot of pros got their big break!) to the “full-blown-professional-face-and-body-artist-that-lives-and-breathes-their-art”... how do you know which is the right face painter for your next big event, child's birthday or even pregnant belly painting?
To help you wade through the mine field of deciding on a face and body painting artist, we came up with the below ULTIMATE CHECKLIST TO HIRING A FACE PAINTER.
Granted, you may find an awesome artist that may not tick all of the boxes below, but this is definitely an excellent place to find out what the most important things are to you, some of which may not have even been on your radar yet... because get it wrong.... and it can go really, really wrong.
Here are 23 things to consider when hiring a face painter...
1. Do they have proof of Blue Card / Working With Children Check?
2. Do they have Public Liability Insurance specifically for face painting and body art?
3. Does your face painter use professional, cosmetic grade and hypo-allergenic face paint, glitter and tools with FDA/EU approved ingredients? And no, we definitely don't mean the face paint you can get at your local retail store. Have you seen what that stuff can do to skin?
4. YOUR HEALTH & SAFETY should be their highest priority... do they have an actual health & safety policy in place?
5. Do they have a strict hygiene practice when working to avoid spreading infectious diseases or potentially causing more harm to an already vulnerable client?
6. If you saw your face painter at an event, did their kit look clean and well maintained?
7. Is your face painter environmentally conscious? The waste can build up very quickly during a face painting gig from disposable baby wipes and plastic cotton buds to regular polyurethane cosmetic glitter (essentially a micro plastic).... all of these items can be replaced with biodegradable options (yep... you can even get plant-based glitter these days!) or at least have their uses minimised.
8. Is your face painter cruelty-free and vegan friendly? As with any cosmetics, are the paints and materials your artists uses tested on animals or contain any animal ingredients like beeswax or lanolin which can be an irritant to some people?
9. Does your face painter have a website or online platform where you can see variety in their portfolio of work and have any basic questions easily answered?
10. Do they have good reviews from previous customers?
11. Is there any evidence to suggest they are continually educating themselves on the latest products and trends or perhaps even attending industry workshops or competitions to stay at the forefront of the industry?
12. Does your face painter make the booking process as easy and efficient as possible for you?
13. Do they have a contract or booking agreement with Terms & Conditions so that everyone's clear and on the same page?
14. Do they have the resources to send a replacement face painter to your event should they become ill or incapacitated?
15. Are they easily contactable and respond to your enquiries within a reasonable time frame?
16. Can your face painter accurately estimate how long it will take to paint your number of guests?
17. Are they able to give you a definite quote followed by an invoice in writing?
18. Can you secure your face painter with a deposit or booking fee?
19. Are they versatile and able to offer a range of designs to suit your needs or theme?
20. Are they adaptable and able to work at different speeds while still producing good designs?
21. Will your face painter bring everything they need or do you need to provide supplies?
22. Does your face painter leave you feeling confident that you've made the right decision in booking them for the job?
23. And finally... does their artwork make you feel good? By all means, all artists have to start somewhere, and opinions on good/bad art are a very personal and very subjective matter... but a face painter and body artist who truly cares about you, their art and their business/livelihood will dedicate themselves to endless practice, practice, practice.... essentially taking their whole career to be able to have the skills to produce a work that might only takes a few minutes but leaves you feeling like a happy, glorious walking artwork.
What do you think about our ULTIMATE CHECKLIST FOR HIRING A FACE PAINTER? Did we miss anything? Or maybe included something you think shouldn't have made the list?
Comment below to let us know!
xx