Temporary Tattoo Guide

Tattoo Guide

This guide will cover a variety of methods that can be used to create fake tattoos and similar markings.

Materials / Methods

These are the types of materials that can be used to create fake tattoos:

• Henna
• Body Paint
• Skin Safe Markers
• Skin Safe Inks
• Skin Safe Paint
• Makeup pencils
• Liquid Eyeliner
• Temporary Tattoo Paper

Tips

• Remember that this will be applied to the skin so make sure to check that the product you are using is non-toxic!
• Using a makeup sealant spray overtop of the tattoo can help it stay on for longer.
• Temporary tattoos should be applied the day they are being worn so they look the best. Except for Henna.
• If you are using paint, airbrushing it on can yield professional looking results
• Tongue tattoos don't work. It is best to look for an alternative method that can't be washed away with saliva

Reviews

I have used some of the methods listed above. Here is my experience with them. Please note that the product was used on washed skin, with no additional sealants unless otherwise noted.

Acrylic Paint

Method: The acrylic paint was applied with a little bit of water. It was painted on with a thin brush.
Dry Time: It dried within a couple minutes.
Lasting Time: It survived over 4 hours without rubbin off, however there was some cracking of the paint
Removal: Remived with soap and water
Thoughts: Great if you need something quick but the cracking might cause difficulty with long wear. It can work well to imitate more detailed designs if watered down as used like an ink, and there are a large variety of colours available. 

Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner

Method: Painted on the liquid eyeliner on the skin using the brush it came with.
Dry Time:Very fast.
Lasting Time:Extremely long lasting. 
Removal: This required makeup remover to remove it.
Thoughts:This was a little restricting due to the small size of the bottle, meaning only the brush it came with and smaller sized brushes could be used for application. Great for smaller and precise designs. It has the best chance of not coming off during a convention. I find that more and more colors are becoming available but it is still fairly restrictive. 

Higgins India Ink

Method: A non-toxic India Ink was mixed with water in a pallet. The ink was painted on with a thin brush.
Dry Time: Less than 10 minutes.
Lasting Time: Surprisingly long, lasted over 4 hours.
Removal: Removed easily with soap and water
Thoughts: It is important to paint lightly with this ink, if it gets too watery then it will take far longer to dry and drip or run. Very easy to do detailed shading with the ink for complex tattoo designs. The ink will try and spread out into the creases of the skin, which can look messy if you use a very watered down ink.

Sharpie Marker

Method: Drew the design on with a thick sharpie marker
Dry Time:Very Fast
Lasting Time:Very Long
Removal:Soap and Water with Scrubbing
Thoughts:Good for solid designs, but not for faded shading that appears in some detailed tattoos. There is a wide range of color to choose from with sharpie and they dry fast. It does smudge easily before it dries, so be careful when drawing it on. Also, choose the right tip for the job! A thick market is good for filling in large areas but does not work well for fine details. The ink will bleed at the edges, be ready to tidy it up when finished. 

 



Original Source: cosplaytutorial.com