MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health Calabarzon has found a new, creative way handling stress as it recommends and conducted recently a four-day “Face Painting Workshop” for employees.

The seminar ran through November 5-8, 2019 for two batches from regional offices and various provincial health offices.

Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo said the objective of the workshop is to promote stress relief among the employees, develop their creativity, bolsters their emotional growth, stimulates an optimistic attitude and also to promote camaraderie.

“At least forty-five minutes of creative activity significantly reduces stresses in the body, regardless of artistic talent or experience,” Janairo said.

“Finding an emotional release from a rigorous work like painting allow the mind to relax and liberate it from all the troubles that provide high level of stress. If you create something na maganda through painting, nai-stimulate ang creative side ng brain and at the same time nare-relieve ang mental strain. Kapag mas mababa ang stress level ng isang tao, mas masaya at healthier ang lifestyles nya at mas improve ang overall mental health nya.”

“Hindi lang ito mabisang pang-alis ng stress, pwede rin itong pagkakitaan and you can earn as much as Php50.00 to Php100 per face,” Janairo added.

Face painting is the act of applying cosmetic paint to a person’s face for entertainment, theatrical or symbolic purpose.

In some parts of the world, it is a common cultural practice and used primarily to identify important individuals like tribal chiefs, shamans and witch doctors to denote different genders and social classes.

Body painting that is limited to the face is called “face painting” and also considered as a contemporary tattoo.

For individuals who want to indulge in face painting, there are safety precautions that must be considered such as the safety of the materials to be used.

Regional Mental Health Coordinator Paulina A. Calo who spearheaded the event stressed that paints must be hypoallergenic and materials must be properly used in terms of application, especially for children.

“Dirty painting tools like sponge and brushes and contaminated materials due to lack of sterilization can cause an allergic reaction to the skin and eyes. “Before applying any paint, you should first check if the person is allergic to the material by applying a small amount to the skin, preferably at the back of hand,” she reminded,

Participants were introduced to various types of face painting like cake face paints, liquid makeup, crayons, dry glitter, glitter gels and basic prosthetic makeup. Proper application of cosmetic paint, use of sponge and various brushes and techniques in creating various designs and creating tribal art, animal faces and scary faces. (GRAMOS/BCUARESMA/IAMIGO/CNS)