Every year I struggled with accurately representing skin tones while crafting in my classroom. I wanted my students to feel good about the crafts they created but most of their artwork didn’t look like them because their skin tones could not be represented with the teaching resources or supplies I had. I work in one of the most diverse populations in the United States – Houston, Texas. My classes featured a wide variety skin tones, however our resource pile only contained manila and dark brown paper, and peach and brown markers and crayons.
My Lightbulb Moment:
While I was working on my Kindness is the New Cool resource with my students, I had my “lightbulb moment”. I wanted to color in some rosy cheeks but didn’t have the proper colored marker; so I asked some of my colleagues if they had any blush and it worked out great. The paper creation had nice rosy cheeks but the skin tone color still didn’t look right, and that’s when it hit me… Why couldn’t I use MAKE-UP for the skin tones? Make-up comes in SO MANY COLORS… All SKIN TONES!
Awesome News:
This was so exciting because I knew that brown eyeshadow would work great for the darker skin tones and it would also look smoother instead of streaky, like with using markers and crayons. Plus, there are so many different shades of brown!
I started experimenting with the make-up and made some “swatches” to show the kids what the make-up would look like on paper. The projects turned out better and the kids were so proud that their crafts matched their skin tones.
Look at the Difference:
On the Left, I used a brown Crayola marker. On the Right, I used brown eyeshadow and a cotton pad to rub it in.
For Back to School or Anytime of Year:
I am so excited to share this with you, just in time for all of the cute Back to School Activities (or anytime of year). Imagine how great your students will feel showing off the crafts of themselves with skin tone colors that more truly reflect them.
Questions you might have:
Where do I get the makeup? It can be expensive to buy it.
Yes, you are right. I raided my make-up drawer for old make-up that I no longer used and asked my friends for make-up they didn’t use anymore. You can ask for donations from parents as well.
How do the kids apply the makeup?
Set up a make-up station that you will run. Let them use their fingers or a cotton square to apply the make-up. I used both here. First apply with the cotton square, then rub in the make-up with your finger until it looks even. Choose up to 5 kids to come work at your make-up station. Try to get a variety of skin tones each time so they don’t have to share. This will make it go faster.
How will the kids know what color to use?
I created make-up swatches by rubbing each color on a small piece of paper and labeling the paper with the color of the make-up. From the swatches, the kids can choose the color closest to their own skin tone.
How do I make the cheeks rosy?
Use a pink blush to add little color to their cheeks. Apply with the index finger in a circular motion.
What kind of paper will the make up work on?
I used card stock, white construction paper and regular copy paper and it worked great every time. The coarser the paper, the more you will need to rub in and the longer you will need to rub.
Other Suggestions:
If you can’t find any make-up from your friends, you can ask stores for donations of make-up that have been opened or ones that they can’t sell. Sephora and Ulta might help you out.
Do you know someone that gets IPSY Bags or Birch Boxes every month?…. They probably have some extra make-up they aren’t using.
Garage Sales might be another option. Tell them you are a teacher and see if they will donate the make-up for your classroom.
Ask for make-up donations on a local Facebook Group. People usually are eager to help teachers out.
The LAST RESORT is to buy the make-up. For inexpensive options, check out the dollar stores.
You Might Like:
Here is the resource that inspired this post. Check it out! It’s a great way to utilize this technique.
Don’t forget to pin the image below to your Teaching Resources board on Pinterest for future use.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Carrie
Related posts that may interest you: Get Creative with Base Ten Clip Art
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