I went to a really fun local circus show not that long ago. Everything about the show was great but I have to admit that one of my very favorite parts was before the show even began when a clown came around and paitned my face with a beautiful little flower design.

I love to get my face painted. That probably sounds silly since I’m all grown up and face painting is for kids right? Well, I think that we should all try to capture the magic and fun of childhood as often as we can and face painting does that for me. I think it’s fun. And beautiful. And filled with fantasy.

Besides, did you know that face painting wasn’t always for kids? In fact, the history of face painting is a really long one and only the last two or three decades of it involve face painting as a fun activity for children. Prior to that, face painting was used by adults for reasons including spiritual ceremonies, entertainment, inclusion in sports activities, tribal affiliation symbolism and camouflage purposes for war and hunting.

Those are some pretty intense things to think about considering how fun face painting is today!

Tags: children, culture, face paint history, face painting, history, history of face painting, hub pages, kathryn vercillo, society