Face Casting

Below is the process for one of many techniques for face casting. All images come from face castings that I completed while in grad school at West Virginia University, and feature fellow students. Since I have completed this process quite a few times, there are pictures featuring more than one model (and then one bonus picture of my own face cast!). My gracious models are either: Joseph Bussey, Cecelia Hill, or Dylan Lack

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First thing's first:

If you are trying to plan a face casting into your day, I would allow 45 minutes to 1 hour with the actor, an additional half hour where you will be working on your own, 24 hours for everything to set, and then another 30-60 minutes for cleaning up the final product.

Now, you may be wondering: but Lauren, what supplies do I need in order to do a face cast? Well, look no further! Below is a comprehensive list of supplies just for you!

Supplies List

-1 human being with a face that you wish to cast

-Calming music and the ability to play it

-1 plastic grocery bag

-2 trash bags or some other sort of full body smock (plastic is best to keep residual goop off of your willing participant)

-Masking tape or other similar tape. Probably any tape would work in a pinch

-2-3 craft towels (i.e. towels that can be permanently dirtied)

-Some sort of tarp to lay down on the floor to catch goop and plaster drips

-Petroleum jelly (i.e. Vaseline)

-Q-Tips or brush for petroleum jelly

-2 CLEAN large plastic bowls

-1 bucket or similar container of water

-1 plastic bucket for mixing plaster

-Access to both cool and warm water (preferably in the room with you)

-2 scooping tools such as empty yogurt cups, small plastic cups, or craft measuring cups

-Face casting alginate (Accu-Cast and Smooth-On are great brands!)

-Plaster Bandages (cut into various sizes: at least 6-10 small, 1 inch by 1 inch squares, some long rectangular strips, and some very thin rectangular strips, etc.)

-Craft scissors

-Face sized cardboard box or other container

-Sawdust or other soft, supportive material

-Plastic wrap

-Hydrocal OR Ultracal (similar to Plaster of Paris, but more durable)

-Small amount of water-based clay

-Cotton balls OR cotton rounds

-Face wash or cold cream

-Witch hazel/toner

-Facial moisturizer

-Face towel

-Needle files

-Sand paper (small and large grit)

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And off we go!

First, let me state the obvious: we did not cover the floors for this one. Let me say that unless you have floors that you don't care about (or that you know are so covered in waxy product that nothing can stick to them) I would highly suggest covered the floors. Great, now that we got that out of the way...

Step one: Prep your actor.

As you can see in the above picture, I have covered Joe in 2 trash bags to protect his clothing. I have ripped holes in the closed end of the bags to allow his torso and then his head to fit through. I then sealed any open edges with masking tape.

In addition to the fashionable trash bag garb he sports above, I have pulled Joe's hair back with a wig cap (since we had one on hand. Bobby pins and hair ties work too!). My next step will be to brush petroleum jelly over Joe's eyebrows and along his hairline in order to protect them from getting stuck in plaster. The petroleum jelly at the hairline is also helpful in keeping the plastic grocery bag that I will soon be placing over his head to protect his hair in place. The grocery bag will stick to the petroleum jelly, and the rest can be pulled back and taped up so that it sits securely around his hair.

Also, it is a great idea to start up some music for your actor before things really get going. Since they won't be able to see or move their face once the process starts (and you can't make them laugh, so talking is often kept to a minimum), music will keep them relaxed, and mentally occupied. This is especially helpful if your actor is nervous about the process.

It is also a good idea to set up a sort of a safe word for your actor. In this case: a "safe motion." Let the actor know that if at any point they feel that they can no longer handle the process, they should make a motion that you both agree upon, and you will happily stop the process and remove all materials from their face. Though it does not happen often, some people cannot handle the closed-in feeling of a face cast, so make sure that your actor knows that it is absolutely okay if they do not wish to continue with the process once it starts.

Step two: Mixing the alginate

Alginate comes in powder form and simply needs to be mixed with cool water to form the paste that you then carefully smear all over your actor's face. I am using Accu-cast alginate here, which I am mixing in one of my clean plastic bowls. The bowl must be clean, otherwise the alginate will pick up any debris in the bowl, potentially adding imperfections to your face cast.

Mixing the alginate is simple:

It is important to use cool water, as warmer water will cause the alginate to set up quicker than it already does (which is pretty fast!) meaning that you may not have time to complete the face cast before it sets on you.

Pour alginate powder into your bowl, then add cool water a bit at a time until your mixture is a little thicker than pancake batter and little thinner than milkshake consistency. One of the nice things about alginate is that if you accidentally add too much water, you can add in a little more of the powder until you get the desired consistency.

I tend to mix with my hand and then just move straight into the face casting from there. Make sure that you mix out all clumps of powder!

Step three: Applying the alginate

Before you apply the alginate to the face, you will need to ask your actor to close their eyes. I like to give a verbal warning before I touch the actor's face once their eyes are closed, since this can be a disconcerting experience for them. I tend to let them know when I will be touching them, where I will be working on, and what material I will be using.

I also always let my actor know that I will be paying special attention to their nostrils, but that if they feel any alginate dripping into or covering their nostrils, that they should simply give a nice strong blow out through the nose, and that should clear the passageway.

I tend to apply the alginate first on the forehead and cheeks, then move onto the lips, the eyes, and finally the nose. I do not use straws in the nose when using alginate, as I think it is easier (and more comfortable for the actor) if I carefully "sculpt" the alginate around their nostrils.

When applying alginate pay attention to any bubbles that form in the goop as you work, especially around the corners of the eyes. It is important to pop and fill in any air bubbles as you go, otherwise your final face cast will be distorted.

Ultimately, you want to have a 1/2 inch to 1 inch layer of alginate lying flush to the face before you move on to the next step.

Once the alginate is covering the face, and all bubbles have been popped, it is time to set in some bits of plaster bandages. You have to be sure to do this before the alginate sets, otherwise you won't be able to get your plaster bandages to stick to the alginate at all. Embed between 6 and 10 plaster bandages into the alginate all over the face. Once these are embedded, allow the alginate to fully set.

You will know that the alginate has set once you can touch it and no goop comes off on your fingers.

A close up view of the plaster bandages set into the alginate. (This one is Dylan! His face casting was only for the nose, so the area that we covered with alginate is smaller than it was on Joe)

Step four: Applying the plaster bandages

Between steps you will most likely want to wash the residual alginate goop off of your hands in a bucket full of water. Nab a craft towel and dry your hands off-- then you are ready to move on to the plaster bandages!

Just like before, throughout this portion of the process I try my best to warn my actor when and where I will be touching their face.

To start, get another clean plastic bowl and fill it so that the bottom is covered by a few inches of warm water. It is important that the water be warm, as the plaster bandages will take longer to set if the water is too cool.

Begin to wet the plaster bandages (and subsequently gently squeeze off the excess water) and apply them to the face over top of the alginate. You should get at least 3-4 layers of plaster bandages covering the alginate. Using some of the smaller pieces that you cut, place them around the nose, making sure that there is a lot of support from the bandages there. Be conscious to make the plaster bandages sit flush with the alginate, as any gaps between alginate and plaster bandages (most often found in the corners of the eyes) will distort your final product.

Once you have enough layers of plaster bandages, it is time to let the plaster set up. You can feel the plaster working, as it warms while it sets. This can take anywhere from 10-25 minutes (depending on how many layers of plaster bandages you have, and the temperature of the water that you used).

A close up of Dylan waiting for the plaster bandages to fully set.

Step five: Removing the face cast

When you can feel that the plaster has hardened enough to remove from the face, guide the actor's hands up to their face, and have them cup the face cast in their hands while leaning slightly forward. Direct the actor to begin wiggling their facial features, which should slowly loosen the alginate from their face. The face cast should them fall into their hands.

You can now take the cast from them, and help the actor to clean up (hence the face wash, witch hazel, moisturizer, and face towel in the supplies list!)

Step six: Pouring the face

This part of the process must be completed immediately following the face casting session, otherwise the alginate will dry out and shrink. So clean yourself off and get ready to pour some hydracal or ultracal (your choice!)!

My first step here was to get a face sized container (I used a cardboard box, but anything that you are willing to get a little messy will work). I then filled the container with sawdust, and laid down some plastic to keep the sawdust from jumping up into my project.

Though it is not shown here, a very important step here is to prep your face cast for pouring by plugging up the nose holes and building up the sides. I use a small amount of water based clay to stick into the open nose holes (make sure not to distort the alginate layer when you do this) Smooth the clay onto the plaster bandaged side of the face cast to create a seal, using a little bit of water to soften the clay if needed.

Once the nose holes are plugged, lay the face cast plaster bandage side down in the box of sawdust. Note where the sides might be a little bit low to contain liquid, and build up some walls with some larger pieces of plaster bandages. Once those walls have set, you are almost ready to pour!

Grab your petroleum jelly before mixing up your hydro/ultracal and make sure to layer in some petroleum jelly anywhere that there is plaster showing. This will ensure that the exposed plaster bandages will not fuse to the hydro/ultracal when you pour it.

Begin to mix your hydro/ultracal. In the above photos I did a slush cast where I poured the hydra/ultracal in in layers, making sure to coat the bottom evenly before pouring in the rest of the mixture to create a solid face cast. I have, however, also had success with simply pouring the mixture in and gently shaking or tapping the container to release any trapped bubbles. So, it's up to you!

Hydro/ultracal will take a while to set, so you can leave it for a day and come back to it once it feels solid and no longer warm.

Step seven: Cleaning up the face

To release your face from the mold, simply peel off the alginate and plaster to reveal your beautiful face! Alginate is not reusable, so feel free to rip it to your heart's content! Side note: There are other products out there that are reusable, so look into those if you want to be able to pour multiple faces from one mold.

The final product, once released from the alginate and plaster bandages, will need some cleaning up. (You'll notice some lovely plaster boogers in my nose here).

Take your needle files and sand paper and remove the above mentioned plaster boogers as well as other imperfections. Use your sandpaper to sand down the striations made by the plastic bag on the forehead. This will give you a much smoother work surface for your future projects!

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions on the process, please feel free to leave me a comment on this post, or email me directly using the contact form!

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