Dressing up is a big part of childhood; whether it is for a school play or a costume party, or just for fun, children love to play dress up.
Halloween is always an amazing season for kids because not only do they get to dress up as whatever character they want, they get to look the part too, with the aid of makeup and accessories.
While you might be wary about using makeup on your child, you should rest assured that it’s okay to apply makeup on your child, being careful to use child-friendly makeup products and mild face paints.
Although some kids favor the scary and gruesome looks for Halloween, others prefer the cuter appearances; and while neither of these looks requires much work or time, you still need to know exactly what to do.
In this article, I will be giving ten easy steps to applying Halloween makeup on your child, some Halloween makeup ideas that you can try, and what to avoid while applying Halloween makeup on your child.
How To Do Halloween Makeup For Kids: 10 Simple Steps
Halloween makeup for kids ranges from goofy and playful to fierce and scary when done right, and doesn’t require any particular skills.
That being said, these few steps are sure to help you achieve the perfect Halloween makeup for your child:
- Be certain what your child’s choice for a Halloween look is.
- Check for proper, correct products.
- Be ready before your child is.
- Work on a clean face.
- Make use of baby powder in place of makeup powder.
- Use wigs for an enhanced appearance.
- Makeup should match your child’s Halloween costume/ outfit.
- Be practical with product use.
- Use lots of colors.
- Have fun with it.
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Know What Your Child Wants
The main point of dressing your child up for Halloween is to help them have fun, so you have to listen to what your child wants to be for Halloween first.
This is just so you know how to handle the costume and makeup for your child, and how to think up different ways to make the outfit more fun for them.
Talk to your child about what they want to be for Halloween, giving examples and dropping little hints and creative ideas for them to latch on to and add to their costume ideas.
Knowing what/who your child wants to be for Halloween also helps you know when to curb the creative ideas when they seem to get too gruesome and scary; some looks are just not for children, no matter how cute you think they’d be.
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Check For Correct Products
Several makeup products are known to contain harsh chemicals that children’s skin is sensitive to, so be sure to avoid such products by checking the ingredients of a makeup product, and doing proper research on that product.
Be sure to check for the manufacturing and expiry dates on the makeup product, so you do not use below-standard and expired products on your child’s skin.
Be Ready Before Your Child
Once you get the correct, skin-sensitive makeup products and face paint for your child, put them together and set them close to you for easy access once the makeup application process starts.
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Make Sure Your Child’s Face Is Ready For Makeup
A clean face makes for a good base for makeup application, whether it’s on an adult or a child; oily and dirty faces may lead to skin irritation/reaction when makeup is applied.
Scrub and wash your child’s face and hands with a mild soap or cleansing liquid and warm water, then dry it off with a clean towel before asking your child to sit down.
It is also best to moisturize your child’s face and lips before applying makeup or face paint to them; sometimes, even mild and child-friendly paint/makeup may cause skin reactions for your child if their skin is dry and flaky.
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Replace Makeup/Translucent Powder With Baby Powder
It is wiser to use baby powder in place of face paint, makeup powder, setting powder, and translucent powder.
There is less risk to your child’s skin when baby powder is used instead of translucent setting powders, and it is easier and less messy to achieve a pasty white-face effect with baby powder instead of face paint.
I discovered this trick several years ago when I did a Joker look for my 10-year-old nephew; the baby powder is best for white pasty looks like clown faces and vampire looks, and it is much easier to clean off.
However, feel free to use whatever works better for you, whether it’s face paint or baby powder, making sure that the product you are using for your child is okay for their skin.
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Use Wigs For A Better Look
The best way to complete your child’s Halloween character is to add a wig to the entire get-up; wigs always make for a better look with Halloween costumes.
For instance, if your child wants a Cruella costume, the black and white wig would be the perfect way for your child to own their character, complete with white makeup and red lips.
Wigs are important in Halloween makeup and shouldn’t be left out, except your child’s Halloween character is one that doesn’t need a wig, like a ghost, a rabbit, or a cute orange pumpkin.
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Match Makeup With Costume
It wouldn’t make sense to put white makeup, or any makeup at all, on your child, if they are dressed in a bunny suit or a pumpkin suit; it takes away the fun of playing the character for your child.
Be certain to match the makeup look with the costume and accessories your child is putting on; a curly wig for clown makeup and costume or cat ears with a cat costume and whiskers for makeup.
Be Practical With Product Application
Be realistic in projecting your idea of a Halloween costume and makeup onto your child’s features; do not try to go overboard with the makeup and accessories you put on your child.
Glue is a substance frequently used in fixing accessories during costuming and makeup; you don’t need a doctor however to know that it will affect your child’s skin negatively if the glue is applied directly.
In place of glue, you should use Halloween stickers and sticky sequins on your child, and save yourself the hassle of treating any rash/reaction your child would’ve gotten from the glue used in fixing accessories.
Do not feel that you have to apply layers and layers of makeup products to make your child’s makeup stand out; even with white-faced Halloween looks.
Remember that your child just wants to look like their favorite character for the night but do not go overboard; create a light costume look that will not be too heavy for the child to move around in.
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Apply Lots Of Colors
Not adding color to your child’s makeup look would turn their Halloween costume into something boring and plain, which is not what you are going for.
If it’s a white-face makeup look, add pops of red and pink, and blue as eyeshadow, lip color, and blush, to make your child look bright and ruddy, even if the Halloween look is supposed to be scary.
Enjoy The Process
Find ways to make the entire process of making up and dressing up for Halloween fun for both you and your child.
Children find it hard to sit still in one place for a long time, so while you are ready and have gotten your child to sit still, think up creative ways to keep their attention.
Make up a game for every time you have to apply mascara, lip color, or any makeup products that could smudge if your child moved too soon, and let the child know what you are doing at every step.
That way, your child is interested in what it is you’re doing on their face and is paying attention enough to not want to ruin whatever makeup look you are applying on them.
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Simple Halloween Makeup Ideas For Kids
There are tons of looks children adopt during Halloween, ranging from cute little rabbits and rainbow face paints to gruesome zombies and rowdy pirates.
Here are a few easy-to-achieve Halloween looks for you to try on your child:
- The Joker look
- Cruella de Vil
- Vampires
- Pumpkin
- Zombies
- Pirates
- Rainbows, etc.
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Pirate
This look involves majorly the use of mascara, eyeliner, and an erasable black marker; you may not need to do anything else.
Apply the mascara and eyeliner around your child’s eyes heavily, and use the marker to create a fake moustache of your choice above the child’s lips.
Alternatively, you could get a costume fake moustache and just fix it to your child’s face, they normally come with mild adhesives so you don’t have to worry about getting glue on your child.
It’s your choice too to either get a bandana and an eyepatch from a store, or you can paint in a black eye patch over one eye, and even draw a tied scarf design to your child’s forehead.
Add a wig of dreadlocks, a shirt, and pants, a waistcoat if you’d like and a pirate hat to complete the costume get-up, and your child is good to go.
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Cruella de Vil
This is one of my favorite looks from over the years; it is a character that’s simple to achieve and does not need much makeup, but still displays the character properly.
The Cruella de Vil look for your child can be gotten by just lathering white powder all over your child’s face, applying blush to the child’s cheeks, and red color to their lips.
Lipstick is okay for use since it would not be for a very long time on their face, but to be on the safer side, use edible red lip color or rouge from berries, just in case your child decides to lick off their Cruella lipstick.
Top the look off with a wig dyed half-white and half-black, and your child’s Cruella de Vil Halloween look is complete.
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Vampire
The vampire looks for Halloween are one of the most straightforward white-face Halloween makeup looks, especially for kids.
Baby powder or translucent powder can be used to achieve that pale-faced vampire effect, paired with costume fangs gotten at any costume store.
If you’d prefer, you can also add fake blood by getting some from a costume store too, or by just smearing red color/rouge/lipstick on the child.
A vampire look always goes with a high-necked cape and slicked-back hair, so do not forget to use gel to slick your child’s hair backwards, which is an easier, cheaper option to get a vampire wig.
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Joker
The most common look for Halloween these days is the clown look, whether as a sick twisted psycho clown like Joker or Pennywise, or a more happy and friendly clown.
Clown makeup comprises lots of colors, from the curly clown wigs to the frills of the clown jumpsuit costume.
If you want the chalkiness of your child’s makeup to be more defined and white, face paint is best recommended; however, do not apply excessively to the point of layering on your child’s face.
Use colorful stickers in place of blush for the dimples and ruddy cheeks of the clown face, with a big red rubber nose for a happier clown look
The Joker costume look doesn’t need a big red nose, but it does need a big red smile; use a marker or red lipstick to draw a messy line on the child’s lips, then make vertical jagged lines over the lips to create a crazed smile.
Complete your clown makeup with a colorful suit or colorful shirt and pants, and funny-looking shoes.; your child just wants to have fun with their look so remember not to do too much.
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Rainbow
There is nothing to creating a rainbow makeup look for your child’s Halloween costume.
Simply draw seven lines of seven different colors in an arc on the side of your child’s face or in the center of their forehead, add a little blush to your child’s cheeks and their makeup is ready.
Dress them up in bright and colorful clothing to compliment the rainbow makeup on their face.
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In Summary
Halloween is a time when kids love to dress up, and knowing that it’s okay to put makeup on your child’s face, it is also important to know what exactly they want to be for Halloween, to help you choose your makeup products and a costume for your child, get creative with the application process and know how to manage your time, so your child can have a perfect Halloween makeup look.
If this article on kids’ Halloween makeup application has been helpful to you, don’t hesitate to share it with anyone else you think may need it; who knows, another parent might be learning from you real soon!
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Also, you can read my guides on applying Kids Makeup and Kids Stage Makeup.
Thank you.
