Jingle bells, jingle bells——You don’t need advanced skills to create a charming Santa look. This Santa face paint tutorial is simple, beginner-friendly, and easy to customize. With just a few basic colors and brushes, you can transform a face into a cheerful Santa in minutes.
What You’ll Need
Before you start your Santa face paint, gather the following supplies:
- Face paint colors: red, white, and black (water-based, skin-safe) | Or Professional Face Paint Classical Palette
- Brushes: Large flat brush (for the hat) Medium round brush (for beard and details)
- Clean water and a towel
- Optional additions: Glitter (for a festive sparkle) and Makeup sponge (for blending edges)
Step-by-Step Santa Face Paint Tutorial
Step 1: Paint the Santa Hat
Start your Santa design by creating the iconic red hat.
Using a large flat brush, load it with red face paint. Paint the hat shape across the forehead, just above the eyebrows. Let the hat curve naturally, and angle the tip downward to one side to give it that classic floppy Santa look. Once the outline feels right, fill in the entire hat with red.
Don’t worry if the edges aren’t perfect—you’ll refine them later.
Step 2: Add the Fluffy White Hat Trim
Switch to white face paint and a clean brush.
Along the bottom edge of the red hat, use soft dabbing or stippling motions to create the fluffy fur trim. Avoid painting straight lines. Instead, use small dots and short strokes to give the trim a textured, furry appearance. This technique instantly adds dimension to your santa design.
Step 3: Paint the Eyebrows
With white face paint, gently dot or lightly stroke above the eyes to create Santa’s eyebrows. The method shown in the picture is faster, and you can also make the eyebrows softer and slightly curved. This small detail adds warmth and helps give Santa his kind, friendly expression.
Step 4: Create the Santa Beard
Now comes the most fun part of santa—the beard.
Using white face paint, paint from the chin upward, following the natural jawline. Cover both cheeks and fill the lower face with white, creating a full, rounded beard shape. Blend the edges lightly so the beard looks fluffy rather than flat.
You can leave some natural skin showing near the mouth for comfort and easier movement, especially for children.
Step 5: Add the Hat Pom-Pom
Using white paint, dab a round pom-pom at the tip of the hat. Just like the trim, use a stippling motion rather than a solid circle. This helps the pom-pom look soft and playful, completing the Santa hat.
Step 6: Outline the Glasses
With black face paint and a smaller brush, carefully draw round glasses around the eyes. Keep the lines thin and gentle—Santa’s glasses should look friendly, not harsh.
This final detail instantly brings the santa design to life.
Optional: Add Sparkle for Extra Magic
If you want to elevate your santa face painting, lightly apply glitter over the hat or beard. A subtle shimmer looks beautiful under holiday lights and adds a magical finishing touch kids love.
Tips for the Best Santa Face Paint Results
- Use light pressure for softer, fluffier textures
- Keep strokes loose—Santa is meant to look cozy and warm
- Always use skin-safe, water-based face paint
- Clean brushes between colors to keep white paint bright
Final Look: A Classic Christmas Santa
And just like that, your santa face paint is complete! This cheerful design is perfect for Christmas parties, winter markets, school performances, and family photos. With its simple shapes and forgiving technique, it’s a design you’ll come back to year after year.
Practice a few times, adjust details to suit your style, and soon you’ll have a go-to Santa design that spreads instant holiday joy wherever you paint.