We make a lot of different kinds of shaving cream paint for everyday play and bathtime fun. See our first ever batch of shaving cream paint HERE and you can find lots more fun shaving cream paint "recipes" HERE , on Bath Activities for Kids. Shaving cream paint is made by simply adding your choice of paint, food coloring, extracts or essential oils to shaving cream for tons of easily washable fun! However, I've had a few readers comment on our shaving cream paints that we've used during bathtime, concerning the skin and other sensitive area irritation it can cause for some children (particularly girls). Because of those comments I wanted to try to create a paint that would still have the fun fluffy and creamy qualities of shaving cream paint, but be more gentle on sensitive skin.
I did a little experiementing with "gentle" ingredients to come up with a fair alternative to shaving cream paint. It turns out that only two very easily obtainable and cheap ingredients was all that was needed...
Hair Conditioner and Cornstarch
Because I was experiementing, I bought the cheapest and largest bottle of conditioner I could find ($2) at the Dollar Store and a box of Cornstarch ($1). I picked a conditioner with no particular scent so when we added any essential oils or extracts to it, the general clean smell of the conditioner could be easily masked, or used as is for an already fresh scent.
Why these two ingredients?
Cornstarch is often used in the bath to sooth dry itchy skin, and even diaper rash, so I knew this would be a great gentle on the skin thickener for this paint.
Conditioner is obviously widely used by adults and children and often ends up in the bath when the hair is washed. As I did, you can buy a large very cheap bottle of conditioner to make your bath paint and it will last you quite a while, or you can choose a conditioner that fits your needs whether you prefer organic conditioner with even more skin sensitive qualities or a tear free children's conditioner.
Sensitive Skin Paint Recipe
1 cup Conditioner to 1/2 cup Cornstarch
yields a great amount of bath paint!
Use a whisk to whip until both ingredients smooth or use a blender (which is what I did)
Because this is an alternative to shaving cream paint, keep in mind that there are some slight differences. It is much denser, but still has enough fluff and puff to have fun with it!
You can easily slightly adjust the ratio of ingredients to your liking,
creating thicker, thinner, denser, or fluffier paint.
However, for it to remain close to shaving cream appearances, you'll need to always use MORE conditioner than cornstarch.
But back to the sensitive skin paint...
You can create any bath paint recipe you'd like by adding food coloring, scent, or even glitter!
Not just for bathtime!
This was actually really easy to clean up to!
A warm rag was all that was needed.
AND as a bonus this stuff can be used as shaving cream as well!
(the basic recipe..no extras)
I tried it, it worked great!
With these two ingredients, you can also make another amazing NEW recipe that I created while making the sensitive skin paint....
Ice Cream Dough
Looks and Smells JUST like ice cream!
click the photo for the recipe!
If you enjoyed our Homemade Paint for Sensitive Skin,
you may also enjoy our...
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I'm excited abut your new discovery. Will this also work for "fluffy stuff"? (shaving cream + cornstarch ) http://4herreras.blogspot.sg/2012/03/fluffy-stuff.html
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what I've been looking for years!!!! A great alternative to shaving cream. There are chemicals in the shaving cream, like paraben and others...So I am very happy to find this post!!!!!!! I can't wait to try this with my kids!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDeborah, I don't believe it would work for fluffy stuff because though it is supposed to be used as an alternative to shaving cream, it is still much denser. When you flip the ratio of cornstarch and conditioner, and use MORE cornstarch than conditioner, you do get pretty awesome results though! That is how I accidentally discovered a new play dough recipe I call Ice Cream Dough, which looks and smells JUST like ice cream! http://www.playcreateexplore.com/2013/01/ice-cream-dough-new-play-recipe.html. Have you tried Cloud Dough? It's a combination of flour and baby oil that is much like fluffy stuff but would be more gentle on the skin if that is what your aiming for. Here's the recipe for that as well. http://www.playcreateexplore.com/2012/01/cloud-dough-is-awesome.html. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteGreat alternative. Paint does easily irritate our skin, even if we don't have sensitive skin the fact that it would have to stay in our skin for a long period of time, affects our skin. Itchiness is a common but it should be a warning that the paint must be washed out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it seems like a great playtime/bath time activity for kids too! But most importantly, it's great for sensitive skin.
ReplyDeleteNothing beats organic and natural products. It does not take a toll on your body and it is cheaper and readily available. There are also little to no side effects when using this kind of organic products.
ReplyDelete