The Art of Home Painting: An Analogy to Skincare and Makeup Regimens
When you think about home painting, you might envision the application of beautiful colors, a fresh coat of paint transforming a space, and perhaps a rewarding sense of accomplishment when the work is done. But, if you dive a little deeper into the nuances of the home painting process, you'll find that it shares many similarities with the meticulous steps we take in a skincare and makeup routine. Both home painting and skincare / makeup require a thoughtful, layered approach to achieve the best results. From the preparation of the surface (or skin) to the final, flawless finishing touch, the process is much more than just the final touch—it’s about creating the right foundation for success.
In this blog post, we’ll explore five key parallels between the home painting process and a skincare and makeup regimen, each step of which is integral to achieving a smooth, polished, and long-lasting result. Whether you're tackling a DIY painting project or going about your daily skincare and makeup routine, the analogy between these two processes can help you appreciate the thought, care, and precision involved in both.
1) Identification of Skin Troubles vs Wall Issues
Before diving into either home painting or skincare, it's essential to identify the issues you're dealing with. Whether you're working with your home or your skin, this first step is crucial in determining the treatment method that best suits the condition.
Skin Troubles: Dryness, Acne, Blemishes, and Fine lines
When you embark on a make-up routine, it’s important to first assess the condition of your skin. Common skin troubles include dryness, acne, blemishes, dark spots, and fine lines. These issues need to be identified before plying on make-up to achieve the best results. For instance, if you have dry flaky skin, just layering on makeup on the bare skin will result in an uneven and even patchy complexion. How make-up sits on your face boils down to what goes on underneath. Identifying skin problems not only helps you choose the right techniques and products to treat them, it also sets you up to prepare your skin for the makeup application process for that radiant, glass skin look.
Wall Issues: Mould, White Patches, Cracks, Peeling Paint, etc
Similary, when preparing to paint your walls, the first thing you need to do is inspect the surfaces thoroughly to identify any underlying issues that could be plaguing your walls.
The most common issues we see are mould growth, white patches, cracks and peeling paint. These issues can have a significant impact on the quality of the final paint job.
If you attempt to paint over a wall that hasn’t been properly treated for these problems, the new paint will likely peel or fail to adhere correctly. Mould and white patches can re-surface to the newly painted wall in a matter of days or worse still, spread to a wider area due to cross contamination.
2) Specialized Skin Treatment vs Wall Treatment Solutions
Once you’ve identified the issues, the next step in both the home painting and skincare process is using specialized treatments to target those specific concerns.
Skincare Solutions
In skincare, there are all sorts of serums on the market to target specific skin concerns—whether its pigmentation, fine lines, acne, sebum control, etc. Serums in skincare are formulated with active ingredients to treat targeted concerns. Whether you’re dealing with dryness, acne, fine lines, or pigmentation, serums deliver concentrated doses of powerful ingredients to address these skin issues directly.
For deeper skin issues, there are more sophisticated treatments one can get at aesthetic clinics involving the use of specialised devices touting lasers, radio frequency, ultrasound and other enhanced technologies to target your various skin troubles.
Wall Treatment Solutions
For wall issues, there are multitudes of treatment options which include:
- Specialized treatment solutions: to eliminate problems like mould, white patches or chalky surfaces
- Scrapping to remove peeling paints
- Putty fillings to fill in cracks
- Plastering to even out wall surfaces.
These treatments tackle your wall issues at their root source, For example, mould treatment solutions are essential in killing mould spores and preventing further growth, while crack fillers and patching compounds are used to smooth out rough surfaces. If left untreated, these imperfections can affect the integrity of your paint job, and in some cases, they may even cause long-term damage to the structure of your walls.
Just as you wouldn't put foundation simply to cover up blemished skin without treating it first, you wouldn’t apply paint to a wall full of issues without addressing those imperfections first.
Think of specialised wall treatment solutions like your targeted treatment for specific skin concerns—designed to work at a deeper level, often offering more intense repair and improvement.
3) Surface Preparation: Skin Exfoliation vs Wall Sanding
After addressing the issues, the next step in both home hompainting and skincare is removing any debris or remnants that could interfere with the paint coating and makeup process. Whether it's mould carcasses or dead skin cells, this step ensures a smooth and even surface for the next phase.
Skin Exfoliation
Exfoliation is an important step in any skincare regime. Whether you choose a physical exfoliant, like a scrub or an exfoliating device, or a chemical exfoliant, like AHA or BHA, the goal is to remove dead skin cells, smooth out rough patches, and reveal fresher, more radiant skin underneath. With the gunk on your skin out of the way, it ensures a smoother and more even application of your makeup products.
Wall Sanding
Sanding ensures all the unwanted stuff on your wall is thoroughly removed and that your final result is as smooth and flawless as possible.
Wall sanding involves the use of sandpaper or an electric sander whose powerful rotational force helps to smooth out the wall, remove any debris and residue mould carcasses, and ensure the surface is ready for the next steps of sealer/primer and fresh paint application.
4) Makeup Primer vs Sealer
Another vital step in both the home painting and makeup process is applying a primer or sealer before the actual paint coatings and makeup. Primer/Sealer creates a smooth, even surface that ensures the paint & makeup adheres better, lasts longer, and often results in more vibrant and true colors. It’s a preparatory step that guarantees the longevity and visual appeal of the paint and makeup.
Makeup Primer.
Makeup primers fill in fine lines, minimize pores, and offer a smoother, more even canvas for the appilcation of foundation or powders. Whether you're working with oily, dry, or combination skin, the right primer helps the foundation adhere better and stay in place longer.
Wall Sealer
Just as a primer is applied to ensure the best possible results for your makeup routine, sealer is a must when it comes to painting a wall. It seals the surface, providing a smooth, even base for the paint to adhere to.
Whether the wall is made of drywall or brick, the use of sealer helps to ensure that the paint job doesn't peel or fade prematurely.
It also provides additional benefits, such as hiding imperfections and residue stains and ensuring that fewer coats of a more expensive paint coating are needed.
The use of a sealer is especially important when you are changing your wall colour from a dark shade to a much lighter one to ensure full cover up of the dark shade to allow the new colour to show up in full glory yet not breaking the bank. As paint coatings are typically more expensive than sealers, most paint applicators will charge higher rates or top-ups if additional coatings of the lighter paint above the standard two coats, are required to mask up your previous dark wall colour.
5) Choosing Makeup Products vs Paint Models
The final step in both home painting and makeup processes is the application of the appropriate paint coating /make up product to achieve the desired result. When it comes to home painting, it’s all about choosing the right type of paint for your walls—whether it's matte, satin or gloss finishing , or paints with specific functions, to meet your needs. In skincare, it's about selecting the right makeup that suit your skin type, tone, and desired outcome.
Curation of Makeup products
The choice of makeup or skincare products is crucial to achieving your desired appearance and complexion as well as skincare goals. Base makeup products such as foundation, BB or CC cream, compact powders each serve a specific purpose and these days come with skincare properties of various functions such as UV protection, brightening, hydrating, etc. A dewy finish might require a lightweight, hydrating foundation, while a matte finish might call for something oil-absorbing.
Paint Model Selection
Similarly, choosing the correct paint for a given surface is essential for both aesthetic and functional reasons.
The key is choosing the paint model that best matches the function and appearance you desire.
There are many paint models in the market from those with anti-mould / anti-bacterial / anti-virus properties to, odour-free and even paint with insecticide to keep your home safe from unwanted mosquitos. There are also various options for finishing such as matte, sheen or glossy.
The goal is to match the product to your needs and desired finish, whether you're working on a wall or your face.
Conclusion: From Wall to Skin, the Art of Preparation and Care
As we've seen, the steps in painting a wall mirror the meticulous steps taken in a skincare and makeup routine. Both processes require attention to detail, thoughtful choices, and a focus on preparation to ensure the best results. Whether you're working with specialized treatment solutions to tackle imperfections, smoothing out surfaces through sanding or exfoliation, preparing the base with a primer, or selecting the right paint or makeup for the final look, each stage plays a crucial role in creating the perfect finish.
Just as your skin needs care and attention before makeup can achieve the flawless results you desire, a wall needs preparation before the final layer of paint can be applied.
When you understand the importance of each step, be it in home painting or skincare, you're more likely to appreciate the time, effort and cost it takes to create something beautiful—whether it's a freshly painted wall or glowing, healthy skin.
Ask the Experts
With the humongous variety of skincare solutions and products out there in the beauty markets these days, it can be mind boggling to filter through the sea of information to identify what best suits your needs, requirements and budgets. Similarly, there are various wall treatment solutions and paint products by various manufacturers, each boasting of various functions, properties and finishing effects.
It is human nature to prioritise facial aesthetics and most people are able to garner the interest and motivation to pour through product details and reviews in pursuit of the magical skincare product to transform their appearance.
Unfortunately, the same is often not the case when it comes to home wall care. We have encountered many homeowners who find it a hassle to understand the technical jargon in the science behind the painting solutions / products which can alleviate their wall issues. We empathise that understanding the technical specifications of these products can be challenging to the layman consumer. Afterall, how life changing can understanding terms like VOC, acrylic polymer emulsion be right?
If you need help navigating through all the technical jargon behind a home painting project, just reach out to us and we will take care of your wall issues because this is what we do best!
About Us
Asher Pte Ltd has over 8 years of experience painting Singapore homes. With thousands of painting and wall remediation jobs under our belt, we have an experienced team with the expertise to identify and eradicate your wall problems and restore your walls to their former glory.