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This is for dying your skin for larp or other costuming stuff
I played a half troll prostitute in a LARP (live action roleplay). And I hated the way creme paints felt on my skin. I hated the way they stained clothes. I hated that no one could touch me. I also dye my hair a lot and one time when I was cleaning dye off my face I figured.. oh! Why not?! And since then I started to use hair dye to stain my skin green for larp. It only rubbed off on clothes if I sweated a lot, and it didn't rub off on other people.

Warnings!!!!!
You have to use Manic Panic hair dye! It is a vegan brand and thus non toxic to the skin. If you have sensitive skin do NOT do this.
Do not put around eyes, eyebrows, or private bits.
If while dying your skin starts to sting, you develop a rash, or get hives, wash off right away and consult a doctor

Before you start dying your skin for the event day you should do a test piece. I'd suggest your legs/back of your calves or someplace no one else will see if you get a rash. As with hair dying do this test 24 hours before hand.

Also if you are doing the vast majority of your body (as I did) you will need a towel to sit down

Posted by Neduls Published See Neduls's 3 projects »
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  • How to make a body painting. Dying Your Skin - Step 1
    Step 1

    Stuff you need!!
    Manic Panic Hair Dye (your color will be a lighter shade) ($10)
    Sponge brush or make up sponge
    Place to wash off at
    Stainable Clothes
    Stainable Towels
    Hair Dryer
    A helpful and patient friend!!

    1: Shower before hand. Scrub yourself till your red. You want all the dead skin and oil off of you.

  • How to make a body painting. Dying Your Skin - Step 2
    Step 2

    2: You'll want to use the sponge brush to spread it on. If it foams slightly that's okay, that actually means you have good coverage.

    (This was my test piece in the wrong color)

  • How to make a body painting. Dying Your Skin - Step 3
    Step 3

    3: (optional) You can use the hair dryer to speed up the drying process. I've done both ways and never noticed a major difference. However. The longer it sits on you wet, the better.

    (Me sitting in the sun before I thought of a hair dyer)

  • How to make a body painting. Dying Your Skin - Step 4
    Step 4

    4: Wash it off at least half an hour later or until dry.

    I've waited half an hour and I've waited well over an hour. I never noticed a big difference. I just figured I'd wait til it was dry.

  • How to make a body painting. Dying Your Skin - Step 5
    Step 5

    After care!!

    1: When you are ready to get rid of it just take a nice hot shower and scrub it off. You might still have some dyed spots around your elbows, knees and eyebrows (if you were brave enough to do them). However after a night's sleep and another shower you should be fine.

    Always plan ahead and make sure you have at least 24 hours before you have to work or go to school. (Or don't care like I do! :D)

    I usually ended up still having dyed armpits, knees, and elbows.

    (The best friend who helped every time!)

  • How to make a body painting. Dying Your Skin - Step 6
    Step 6

    Random Extra Notes
    Find a matte eyeshadow close to the color you want to use as a foundation after you've dyed yourself. Because it is going to be streaky. Plus if you are like me and sweat a lot and get nervous and touch your face a lot then its gonna rub off on your face some.

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Comments

DarkAshHurts
DarkAshHurts · 119 projects
This is interesting. I don't think using manic panic is actually bad. It isn't really a "hair dye" it's a temporary hair STAIN. Its vegan, so it doesn't have any harsh chemicals, and is basically a vegetable hair dye (that's the only way to get crazy colors). Though yes, you should test it if you've never used it before!
I've used almost every color of manic panic (on hair), and only 1 actually stained my skin badly & I couldn't get it off for days (it's Rockabilly Blue). Some didn't even stain me at all (purples, yellows, & some reds), though I wasn't trying to stain myself. Lol All the others I think would stain your skin for a day, and like said in the tutorial can be easily washed off in 2 scrubbed shampoo washes.

If anyone else does it, most Manic Panic comes off easily with shampoo, especially dandruff shampoo which is harsher.. Not sure if that works on the skin though. Lol
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Maladignia
Maladignia · Amersfoort, Utrecht, NL · 87 projects
The brand water paint I use is Grimas. I've tried Snazaroo but that didn't work for me (at least the white and black didn't, it stayed blotchy) Getting it off is really simple: rub shampoo all over it (creating a mess) and then rinse: all gone. Only creases in the skin (around the nose and eyes) need a little work with a piece of cloth and some more shampoo.

About clogging up the pores.. well I think nearly everything that you put on your skin closes off your pores or is unnatural anyway. I never wear make-up (foundations, creams, whatever) and paint only for LARP.
Using hair dye might be safe, but not all skin is like the skin of your scalp so it might react differently. So I'd certainly test it first. Kudos for the warning in the introduction. Happy
Another reason I wouldn't use hair dye is that I really want to get rid of all the color when I go back to 'normal life', so hair dye that sticks around wouldn't do for me. ;-)
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Maladignia
Maladignia · Amersfoort, Utrecht, NL · 87 projects
Wow.. I'm a larper too and this is something that I have never seen anybody do or even consider.
For arms/legs I have used tights in the right color (red in my case, demon child) and for my face and neck I use water based paints. The creamy kind clogs up your skin more than the water kind and I find the latter to be much less annoying to wear.
I'm very lucky to have skin that 'likes' paint and it stays on really well. As long as I'm not touching it when it is wet. Powdering it with a fixing powder or spraying hairspray on it (eewwww) after the paint has dried also works well to keep it on all day. I sleep with it to and the next morning only need a few touch ups.

Dying your skin with hair dye sounds scary to me.. I'd never try it, but perhaps it is useful for some other brave soul. Happy
Neduls
Neduls · 3 projects
See. I never got the chance to try out water paints (I don't play any more), so I didn't know how well that would last. I wanted to just paint myself once and not really have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend and honestly it was too hot to wear tights. (As you can see in the pictures I hitched up my skirts and wore scarves)

But that is also why you have to use Manic Panic. LIke I said its vegan based and should not harm your skin. Its just like dying your hair though. You get hair dye on your scalp and it doesn't burn or break out (at least mine never did). So I found a method that worked for me.

What kind of paint did you use exactly? I heard acrylics are bad because they clog the pores and don't allow your skin to breathe.
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