Face painting sponges

[linken74]

Good Morning Everyone - I have a question - well, actually, I have lots of questions since I know very little.  I was wondering if the sponges that are available at the cosmetic counters work as well as the ones that are actually sold for face painting?  Linda - linken74

[Sherry]

Hi Linda,

I've heard most face painters say that they don't work well with face paint.  They are made to be used with cream based makeups and not water based face paint makeup.  But, I've tried them and thought they worked pretty good.  The only thing that wasn't so great, was that they are small and it makes for extra messy face painting, when the paint gets all over your fingers.

I took the ones I bought and let my kids use them now, when they're having a round of face painting fun.   

[GaFacepainter]

I tried them once, probably didn't give it a fare shake though. They seemed to be too slick. I might have to give them another try.

[LillyW]

I have started using sponge/foam smoothies, the disposable kind that are the same size as the nice wood ones.  They are cheap and work great.  Plus, the keep my hands clean, and are easier to create designs with than a regular sponge.

- Lilly Walters
Face Painter in Claremont, La Verne, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas and Glendora
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[peoplepainter]

I have tried lots of sponges and the ones I prefer above all else are the green sponges that Jodi Carr carries, they last the longest and don't stain like the lighter colored ones, I quarter the full sponge for fping and keep some in wholes for body painting.
After using them I rinse them well in hot water and then put them in nylon mesh bag in my washing machine with antibacterial soap, then throw them in the dryer for about 20 minutes.  The dryer really brings them to full form.  I also take them from time to time and dip them in boiling water and that really brings life back into them.
The "smoothies" are nice for eye shadows and blush but they just don't last very long for me and aren't that cheap to keep replacing,  I keep a few in my kit but mostly rely on the green sponges.
I count my sponges and keep 100 out for my gigs, not using the same sponge twice, I figure when I run out of sponges I have painted at leaste 75 faces and telling the line I need to sterilize and wash sponges is a great excuse to go take a break without any complaints.

[saloner]

what is Judy Carr? I looked on the web and there isn't anything, is it a store? Where can I find these spones and what are they called? Thanks

[Alison]

That is one funny picture PeoplePainter.
You have enough good habits for taking care of the sponges,
but I have a few more that our group might also like:

Not the cosmetic sponges, not the green sponges - I haven't tried them.
I use the regular yellow sponges. 
I hand squeeze them in hydrogen peroxide after each gig.
Then I wash them in washing machine with hot water.
Then I microwave them - supposedly kills germs like wow.

[Sherry]

Hi Saloner... Jodi's site is profacepaint.com.

[Wildcatfin]

The green sponges are Fantasy World Wide sponges - my fave too. Nice and resiliant enough to keep fingers cleaner AND the nice green colour doesn't fade to grey or stain as much as the others. Strange they are so good with solid f-p as FWW is a cream!

Do NOT use the latex makeup sponges with proper f-p, its a mess and usually the sponges are too thin or floppy as well. I get so many students who were told to use them by shop assistants/ makeup courses and its really annoying. Generally at best they smear f-p around.

Snaz sponges are a little too soft & easy to stain, but their newer petal sponges are beter, just too expensive and not the most useful shape. Wolfe are too porous tho I do keep a few for some effects. Grimas are too soft. Etc.

Smoothies areOK for some effects but you get a better effect in awkward shapes like eyes with a sponge plus you can squish sponges into shapes. And they last longer - I have had some since I 1st started 5 yrs back, being washed every few days and they are still going strong. Bit more eco too!

I halve all the circular ones with dressmaking  scissors and use each end of the 1/2 for a face (as it has several surfaces and I also tend to laod pale colours 1st). Means I get 4 faces per originally whole sponge so easily do 10+ hour gigs with a clean sponge per face.

I wash in a normal machine wash and make sure they are competely air-dried as fast as possible - its soo humid here moulds etc are rapid!
Cat x

[Jhayded]

Another problem with those cosmetic sponges is their unforgiving absorbability. If you look at them carefully when you load with paint you'll notice that they absorb and trap paint and in order to get a good transfer to skin you have to load them to the point where the sponge is saturated...which is why you get the painted fingers. There's no better way of wasting paint than feeding it to a greedy sponge. When you wash them out, all of your paint they've been hoarding goes down the drain.

[Alison]

And be careful how you cut your sponges.
Lol - I met a facepainter this week who cut the circle in half -
making two Narrow Circles instead of two half-circles.
They were so floppy, it was like applying paint with tissues!

Amazing what happens to people who don't network,
people who don't take the time to come to funfacepaintchat ~

[Sherry]

Ha, ha poor thing.  I remember when I first bought the Snazaroo petal sponges when they came out.  I followed some face painters directions and cut them.  I believe I cut them in the right way, but I didn't like using them after that.  I think they ended up being too small that way.

[Alison]

I was one of those people who thought - Wow - look at this bargain - when I saw like 40 makeup wedges in the supermarket.  Yikes.  That didn't work

[Kaci]

Has anyone tried the Silly Farm brand sponges?  They have 'green high density' and 'pink high density' just wondering how these compare. They are 10 for $9 on the website, but I frequently get emails from them for $5 off or 10% off etc. so seems to be a store I might buy often at, if only because of the discounts.  But if good old experience of my fellow face painters says the green FWW sponges are much better, then I will probably follow that advise.  I too bought the cheap drugstore sponges to try and thought they were way to flimsy and small to control, also messy. But I still keep them in my kit for when I'm applying just one color to an area and don't need exact edges.  But for the rainbow cakes, etc I'm looking for the best but also on a budget.  I noticed sponges can be tricky with the teeny tiny faces, maybe that's where cutting them comes into play. Any suggestions for getting into those little eye areas?

[Sherry]

I haven't tried the Silly Farm brand, but I like the firmness of the Diamond FX and Wolfe yellow sponges.  I cut mine in half and that gets in to the eye areas as long as they're not squinching up their face.