Nothing is quite as enchanting as the colorful glow of body paints dancing to the rhythm of the music in the bluish darkness of UV lights.
Sounds like an otherworldly sight, doesn’t it? Luckily it’s easy to achieve because we’re talking about glow-in-the-dark body paint. This paint can be used on your skin, face, and even hair to add an electric impact to your look at the next rave, club trip, dance, or Halloween party.
So, what are the best glow-in-the-dark body paints? The best glow-in-the-dark body paints are made with skin-safe ingredients, glow brightly either on their own or under UV light, and come in a broad range of colors to choose from.
Glow-in-the-dark paints are super fun, safe, and easy to use. If you’ve been thinking about getting some for your next event (or just for fun), we’ve put together this guide to help you find the best glow-in-the-dark body paints on the market.
Buyer’s Guide To Glow-In-The-Dark Body Paints
When shopping for glow-in-the-dark body paints, we recommend paying attention to the following factors to make sure you’re getting a safe and effective product.
Safe Ingredients
Since these paints go on your body, it’s important that their ingredients are safe and hypoallergenic. The last thing you need is a huge rash on your skin while you’re trying to have a good time.
Some glow-in-the-dark paints are specifically made with non-toxic ingredients and even contain skin-soothing additives.
When shopping for a glow-in-the-dark body paint, keep that in mind, especially if you have sensitive skin.
Blacklight Or No Blacklight
When choosing the right paints for your setting, don’t get confused between glow-in-the-dark fluorescent paints that require a blacklight and glow-in-the-dark paints that don’t need a special light.
In fact, most glowing body paints on the market are the type that require a blacklight. This is what makes them so fun at festivals, nightclubs, and raves – the UV light from the blacklight makes them look neon-bright.
If you want body paint that can glow without blacklight, it needs to be phosphorescent paint. That type of paint looks greenish during the day and has a subtle green glow-in-the-dark. It needs to be “charged” with a bright light in order to sustain its glow.
Phosphorescent paint is usually not as bright as fluorescent paint and doesn’t come in as many colors since it mostly has a greenish hue.
If you are still confused, just remember that all those bright colorful glow-in-the-dark paints you see at raves are almost always activated by a blacklight. If you’re looking for that type of effect, you need fluorescent glow-in-the-dark paint.
Color Options
Another thing to keep in mind when buying glow-in-the-dark body paint is how many color options you can get from the product.
Some glow-in-the-dark paints come with several colors in the pallet that can be mixed together for several options. Some products come in just one shade, so you either have to buy several or just stick to one color for the whole event.
Some pallets make mixing super easy by providing extra black and white paints that can be mixed with other colors to easily create even more options. Some of the products we recommend come in pallets like this because we love how fun and creative you can get with them!
Best Glow-In-The-Dark Body Paints
Below we’ve compiled some of the best glow-in-the-dark body paints that we could find. These body paints have excellent reviews, vivid color options, and are safe for your skin.
1. Mehron Makeup Paradise AQ Face & Body Paint
For artsy types looking to create a fluorescent masterpiece on their body, you won’t find anything better than this Mehron glow-in-the-dark paint set.
In case you didn’t know, Mehron is a highly respected premium brand that makes a wide variety of special effect paints and makeup. Their products are used all over the world for artistic productions, such as movie sets, fashion shows, and theaters.
In fact, the world-renown production Cirque Du Soleil uses Mehron products on stage! Needless to say, you’re getting the highest quality with this kit.
This particular pallet consists of 8 glow-in-the-dark paints that are activated by water, just like watercolor paints. Using a brush and a little bit of water, you can create detailed, elaborate, and impressive images on your face and body.
The paints look vibrant in daylight and glow neon-bright under UV blacklight. They do not glow-in-the-dark without a blacklight.
These paints are made in the USA out of non-toxic materials. They also pack some amazing skin-soothing ingredients like aloe, vitamin E, cucumber, cocoa butter, lemongrass, and avocado oil.
If you’re worried about your skin reacting with the paints, this Mehron set is one of the safest body paints on the market that will leave your skin feeling smooth and calm.
Mehron also sells individual refills if you happen to run out of one of the colors! This is a great kit for someone looking to create professional-level body designs for festivals, conventions, and EDM events.
2. Neon Nights UV Body Paint Set
Another great set of fluorescent body paints is Neon Nights. These paints are premium-level and handcrafted in Germany.
We love that there are 8 colors to choose from, including a fluorescent white, which as you know, looks incredibly electric under a UV blacklight.
Since these are fluorescent paints, they only glow under blacklight, not in the dark. Under sunlight, they look like regular neon paints so you can rock them all day, too.
Each paint color comes in a 0.8 fl oz jar, so you can get enough paint for several people to use on their bodies and faces.
Another great thing about these paints is that they are easily removable with soap and water, even if you get them on your clothes or furniture. Just use a washcloth to remove.
3. NewWay Glow-In-The-Dark UV Body Paint
If you’ve got a big crowd, we can’t recommend this set enough. These NewWay body paints come in a set of 24 tubes of six different colors, so you’ll have plenty of paint to go around.
Like the other paints on our list, these are activated by UV blacklight, so they’re perfect for blacklight parties, nightclubs, raves, and festivals.
You can put these on your face and body – the ingredients are completely non-toxic and quick to dry. The removal process is easy too: some water and a little bit of soap will do the trick.
People who have purchased them note that the colors come out very bright and vibrant under a blacklight, and the paints are easy to remove. One reviewer even put the paints in her hair and loved the result!
We think these paints provide some of the best bang for your buck – you get a lot of the product for a reasonable price. A great purchase for the next blacklight party host!
4. Splashes & Spills UV Face And Body Paint Sticks
If you’re worried about creating a mess with your glow-in-the-dark body paints, or you need to apply them with precision to create intricate designs – these Splashes and Spills Body Paint Sticks are exactly what you need.
These paint sticks are similar to makeup crayons – they are a little bit waxy in texture and pack a lot of pigmentation.
This allows you to draw on different designs with them, creating lines, dots, arrows, hearts, flowers, and anything you can think of, without worrying about messing it up.
They’re also super compact, so you can bring them with you for touch-ups if needed. You can even bring them on an airplane if you’re traveling far since they are not considered liquid. We love that they are so portable and compact!
According to customer reviews, they are super easy to use, and the colors are just as vibrant as regular glow-in-the-dark paints.
Because they are not as runny as the other paints, you are less likely to get them on your clothes or furniture and you won’t create as many mistakes.
The set comes with 6 different crayons that look awesome under blacklight. Included with the kit is a mini blacklight that you can use to see how your designs are coming out while you’re getting ready. How thoughtful!
5. UV Glow Blacklight Face And Body Paints
This set of blacklight paints comes with six tubes of neon colors that react to UV light producing an electric glow. They look great under daylight too because they are highly pigmented.
The tubes of paint are about 0.3 fl oz each, which gives you plenty of colors to work with and even share with some friends.
We love these because they dry quickly and are easy to apply. Reviewers rave (no pun intended) about how long these paints stay on even when partying and sweating. At the end of the night, you can wash them off easily with soap and water.
The ingredients list features cucumber extract, which naturally contains lactic acid and offers soothing properties for the skin. These paints also contain green tea extract providing your skin with much-needed anti-oxidants. The paints meet all the EU Cosmetic Directive requirements, meaning they are non-toxic and safe to use.
Overall, this set is great as it gives you a lot of good color options, the paints are easy to use, and they provide bold, long-lasting colors.
6. Midnight Glo UV Neon Face & Body Paint Glow Kit
This set of 7 glowing paints gets a lot of praise for how smooth and creamy the colors are. As with the other paints on this list, this product looks best under a UV blacklight. It also looks bright under sunlight, but a blacklight is what really makes it pop.
With 7 shades to choose from, you’ll have plenty of options to create a bright and vibrant look. These paints can be mixed together for unlimited color options.
This product is made in the USA out of safe and non-toxic ingredients that are hypoallergenic. You should have no problems wearing these paints on your skin for a full night as they dry quickly and don’t rub off easily. When you want to remove the paint, just use some warm water with soap.
Reviewers recommend using a brush to apply these creamy paints to your face and body – the brush will give you more control during the application process, resulting in some beautiful art.
As with all fluorescent paints, these ones need a source of UV light in order to pop with the neon glow – they will not glow-in-the-dark on their own.
We love this set because it has so many positive reviews, and people seem to enjoy the smooth texture and safety of these paints.
7. Blue Squid Fluorescent Glow Face & Body Paint
Blue Squid is a small UK-based family business that makes and sells a wide range of fun activities for kids and families, including these fluorescent face and body paints.
These paints come in 8 colors in large tubs, and they are specifically formulated for sensitive skin. They are safe for children and adults alike and are made with non-toxic vegan ingredients.
During daylight the colors are not very vibrant, however as soon as you turn the lights off and turn on the blacklight – you’ll be amazed at how bright and glowy they become!
We love that these paints are easy to use, vibrant, and safe for kids!
8. Splashes And Spills UV Face And Body Paint
These Splashes and Spills water-activated paints are similar to the Mehron paints we featured earlier – in the sense that they come in compressed powder form and need to be mixed with water in order to start using them.
Much like watercolors, they require some artistic skill, but if you’re equipped with a good brush and previous painting experience, you’ll have no trouble using them!
The beauty of water-activated paints is that you get to control the intensity of colors, combine different tones, and create impressive shading.
This Splashes and Spills kit comes with 6 ultra-bright colors that glow under UV blacklight. If you “charge” them under the sun during the day, they will glow even more intensely under the blacklight.
Because they are compressed powder, these colors are highly concentrated and pigmented. Not only can you achieve very vivid results, but you can also get a lot of use out of them since a little bit goes a long way.
If you’re interested in creating a glow-in-the-dark makeup look, these paints are ideal for that. They are non-toxic and kind to your skin.
9. Fenshine UV Glow Blacklight Neon Face And Body Paint
If you’re looking for a set that has it all, you might like this Fenshine body paint kit that includes 8 neon glow-in-the-dark colors, 10 paintbrushes, and pattern stencils.
This kit makes it so easy to create beautiful designs on your skin even if you have no artistic talent.
Each tube of color is a good size – 0.84 fl oz, so you’ll get enough paint out of this kit for a couple of people or even more than one event.
The stencils feature some trendy patterns, such as hearts, flowers, stars, animals, and even a few Halloween-inspired designs.
According to the manufacturer, the paints are non-toxic, contain no harmful ingredients, and are unscented. Reviewers confirm that they had no issues using these paints on their skin.
They noted that these paints do not look vibrant under regular daylight, but do become very bright under a UV blacklight, so keep that in mind if you want them to be visible during the day.
Do You Need A UV Light For Glow-In-The-Dark Body Paints?
Yes, for the majority of glow-in-the-dark body paints on the market, you do need a UV blacklight in order for the paints to pop with a neon glow. It is very hard to find body paints that can glow on their own because they would need to contain phosphorus ingredients like luminescent zinc sulfide to glow without a source of light.
Phosphorescent ingredients typically glow with a faint greenish color (think: glow-in-the-dark stars that were glued to your ceiling as a kid) so they’re not as “fun” as all the vibrant fluorescent colors you can get with a blacklight.
The ingredients in phosphorescent paints are not as safe for your skin either, making them a much less popular option.
For this reason and more, most glow-in-the-dark paints on the market are the kind that work under a blacklight and produce safe, fun, and vibrant colors you see at festivals and raves all over the world.
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