What exactly is liquid latex?

Liquid latex is exactly what it sounds like. Latex (a rubber, often naturally derived from a tropical vine) dissolved in a solvent. The ingredients often include latex, water, ammonia, dimethyl thiuram disulfide and zinc oxide. It is painted on the skin and, just like the paint you use for walls, the ammonia and other solvents vaporize, leaving a latex residue that shrinks by about 3%.