Reel Body Paint Remover
The Reel Creations body paint remover is my favorite way to remove alcohol based body paint. It works faster than most other removers, it doesn't have a strong smell, it doesn't bother my skin, and it doesn't make a big mess when I use it! You only need a small amount of remover each time you take off your body paint, so one bottle lasts quite a while.
The trick to removing alcohol based body paint is to use an oil based remover. My favorite remover is the one sold by Reel Creations. It works really well and really fast, it doesn't bother my skin, it and it only takes a little bit so a bottle of remover lasts a long time. Other commonly used removers are coconut oil, baby oil, rubbing alcohol, etc. They do work, just not quite as fast. I like the way coconut oil feels on my skin, and I learned the hard way not to use scented baby oil because the smell stuck around waaay too long. Bleck. Still, I like to use the stuff that was actually made for the job!
To wash off your body paint, just step in the shower with a sacrificial washcloth that you don't mind getting stained, a bar of soap, and your bottle of remover. Use a thin cloth because thick terry will soak up and waste too much remover. I have found that the little Buff Puff type pads also work for removing makeup, but be gentle with them. No scrubbing! Pour some remover on the cloth and rub it over the paint. NO water yet, just remover. If the cloth starts feeling dry, add some more remover. Be sure to rub remover over all the areas that you painted. If you miss a spot, the paint will stay there! Once that's done you close the bottle, set aside the washcloth outside the direct spray of the shower, and grab the bar of soap. Turn on the water, lather up with the soap... and it alllll washes away. You're human once again! Then you get out of the shower and bust up laughing when you see yourself in the mirror because you will discover an assortment of still-painted spots that you completely missed with the remover. Usually it's the underside of the nose and chin, the dips around the collarbones, inside the belly button, and the space between your eyes and the bridge of your nose. Step back in the shower, grab the remover soaked washcloth, and repeat the process for the spots you missed! (And accept that someone is going to point out later that you still have a painted spot behind your ear, or on your elbow, or the back of your neck...)
I recommend drying off with a sacrificial towel in case there are any greasy paint-tinted spots that you missed with the soap. You don't want a permanent stain on your good towels, or those belonging to a hotel! I have a towel and washcloth that are designated Twi'lek cleanup gear, and they go with me to every convention. If you're in a hotel, I recommend putting the remover soaked washcloth in a ziplock bag when you're done with it. Don't seal the bag until it's time to pack up because you don't want it to mildew... but don't leave that greasy cloth laying in the open where somebody might brush against it and get paint-stained remover on their clothes or costumes. I also recommend hand-washing the washcloth with dish soap afterwards, rather than tossing it in the clothes washer. You don't want that grease all over everything in the wash, and dish soap does a good job of breaking down the oils. I have a 'remover kit' that goes with me to conventions. It's a gallon size ziplock bag. Inside that bag, I have a quart ziplock for the washcloth and bar of soap. A second sealed inner bag holds my bottle of remover. The outer bag keeps the two inner bags together and protects your luggage in case either of them leak on the way to or from the convention.
