Scented Shaving Cream Sensory Paint

Shaving cream art is one of my favorite sensory activities. What kid doesn’t love the gushy, mushy mess that it creates? In the past few weeks we’ve made shaving cream Thanksgiving turkeys, fall trees and Monet-inspired Water Lilies. After one of those posts, a reader asked what kind of shaving cream she could use if her child couldn’t stand the smell.

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I get it. Shaving cream has that distinctly “grandpa” scent to it. I told the reader to look for the most plain-Jane formula that she could find. When you start adding in the aloe, softeners and smoothers, you often also get a strong smell. That said, even with a plain old cream, you’ll still get that manly scent.

To solve this problem, I added another layer to the sensory exploration. Why turn of your child’s nose when she plays with shaving cream art when you can make it part of the activity. I typically color the shaving cream with food coloring or tempera paint. This time I used a few left over Kool-Aid packs (you can swap these for any other similar powdered drink mix). Not only does the powder add a sweet fruity scent, but it also gives the shaving cream a new color and creates an entirely different texture to play with.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

·        Shaving cream

·        Wax paper – It makes an excellent barrier and is cheaper than buying a pricey art palette.

·        Powdered drink mix

·        Card stock paper – The thicker paper holds the weight of the shaving cream paint better than thinner construction paper.

·        Plastic straws

Here’s What to Do:

1.     Create at least three mounds of shaving cream on the wax paper.

2.     Sprinkle the powdered drink mix on top. You don’t have to use the entire packet. Start slowly, adding more as needed. Some of the colors may turn out differently than your child expects. We used grape (which smells amazing). But, instead of a bold purple, we got a mauvish grey.

 

3.     Stir the powder into the shaving cream. It won’t completely dissolve. This adds a sandy or gritty texture for even more tactile play fun!

 

You’ve made the puffy, textured paint with your child. So now what? First, even though this paint smells like food, it isn’t. If your child is prone to putting her art materials in her mouth, you’ll want an edible version. This shaving cream paint is not in any way edible. If you’re sure that your child can keep from licking the paint off of the paper, proceed with the process!

There are plenty of ways for your child to use this paint:

Start with some abstract art. Give your child the paper, the paint and let her use her fingers to create squiggles, lines, swirls, clumps or her own shapes.

 

 

 

Give her a straw. Ask her what she can do to change the way that the paint looks on the paper with the straw. She can draw onto the paint. As the straw wipes the shaving cream away, she’ll see lines, patterns and curves showing through.

 

If she wants to paint “something”, your child can sue the colorful shaving cream to make a picture on the paper. We made flowers, but your child can pick any image that she wants!

 

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