Face paints offer a terrific way to complete your children's dressing-up - turn them into an animal, superhero or flower fairy! Before applying paint to faces of babies and toddlers, apply a small patch first just to check that there's no allergic reaction. Children have more delicate skin than adults so it's just possible that paints might cause a reaction so if this is the first time, proceed with caution. You should also avoid paint in the eyes or on broken or particularly sensitive skin.

You can hire professional face painters for children's parties - just look in your local Yellow Pages, party shop or search on the internet and you'll be able to find someone local to you. Children love having their faces painted and a face painter will add a touch of magic to any party. They'll probably offer some other entertainment too, maybe some magic or balloon modeling.

To remove face paints, wash off with warm water. Never use any make-up removers or other chemical based cleansers on your children's faces.

Face painting is a great way to enhance your little one's pretend play - by painting their faces they can become a tiger, dog, fairy or butterfly.  Your kids will love having their faces painted.  Don't worry if you don't feel you are artistic enough, however your artwork turns out, they're bound to feel the part!

The best face paints to use are sold in palettes like water colours, rather than the crayon sticks that you may know from your own childhood.  You can apply these paints with a sponge or brushes.  Start by creating a wash all over the face using a base colour and then add the detail using brushes.

If your child has sensitive skin or you are worried about painting their faces, then you can simply paint motifs onto their hands or arms.

Here are some ideas for faces to create:-

• Animals: tiger, zebra, frog, butterfly, dog, rabbit
• Superheroes: Spiderman, Batman, Incredible Hulk, fairy
• Antiheroes: Dracula, the Gruffalo, a skeleton
• People: Clown, soldier, pirate

Snazaroo is one of the leading brands of face paints, take a look at their online gallery for inspiration!