Nail tech Trish Bartram fell into the sideline of baby bump painting more or less by accident. Things were slow when she first opened her salon, Nail Groove in Seaham, County Durham, England, so she branched out into facepainting. From there it was a small leap to painting rounded bellies with a design of the mother’s choosing.

She does the painting — using skin-friendly water-based facepaint — in the comfort of the expectant mother’s home, sometimes in conjunction with a baby shower. The sessions can last two hours with breaks as needed.

“I always discuss the design beforehand, so its personal to mum and baby and will do some samples to make sure it’s what she wants,” says Bartram. “The first time I did a client I was nervous and it was very odd being so close to a pregnant woman, but it must release relaxing hormones as the babies love it and sometimes I get a little foot poked out at me.”

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