This weekend I ventured into the world of bald caps, and this is what I went through.
Firstly, don't buy a Smiffy's bald cap. Although they are cheap, they smell awful (the smell did eventually lessen after I covered it in flowery talc for a few days, then let it air for a few more), and unless you have a small head, they are very tight, like a swim cap (I wouldn't be happy wearing it all day). It's also weird shaped - it leaves a crinkly pointed bit on the top.
After doing a lot of research I fancied a Kryolan Glatzan Bald Cap, as you can blend away the edges with acetone to make it more realistic, but I had a limited budget, and the caps are around £15-20 each and near enough a one time only useage (so you can't even practice), and that's before I bought all the gubbins to attach it (glue, glue remover, acetone, make-up to cover).
As I had a head band for my character I decided that the full blend away effect wasn't needed, so went searching for more ideas.
I eventually came across a Mehron Bald Cap Kit. The kit has everything you need - latex cap, glue, glue remover, make-up, make-up applicators, dusting powder and a little pot of latex for blending to the skin (and quick repairs - I'll tell you later).
Now I'd seen these for around £38-42, but I found one on eBay for only £22. I was a bit wary, as that price seemed too good to be true, but looked at the seller and discovered it was a fancy dress shop about 25 mins from me, so off I headed to buy it in person.
You only get the one cap, so again no practice can be done, so I watched a load of YouTube vids and hoped that I'd learn enough to be able to do it on the day.
The event arrived and I went for it.
First thing you have to do is cut the cap around the ears and forehead to get the fit. I had seen people cut it whilst wearing it on their head in the vids, this isn't as easy as it sounds, in fact it's really hard to do. I used some round-ended scissors, so that I didn't stab myself in the head whilst cutting - I'm clumsy! This, with hindsight, is a mistake, not the scissor part, but cutting it on your own head, as whilst doing my second ear, the tension on the latex meant that it split upwards when I did a slightly jagged cut.
Having the little pot of latex saved me at this point. I took off the cap, carefully, and dabbed some latex at the apex of the split, and built it up so the split wouldn't continue. Luckily for me the head band would cover this flaw. After this attempt I now know that next time I would mark out my ears and the 'cut lines' with a make-up pencil or similar, take the cap off my head and cut it without the tension, that way there would be smoother continuous cuts without the jagged bits that tend to split.
Cuts done, I put the cap back on, and carefully started glueing - another nightmare if you are trying to do this on your own. The vial of glue in the kit is small and narrow, and has a brush in the cap, so when you have one hand holding the cap out to get the glue under, the other has to negotiate a tube with an unstable base and a small opening - tricky. This led to a number of tip-overs, and therefore glue all over the sink, and my fingers, which doesn't work so well when fiddling about with thin latex.
My character Timov has the aforementioned headband, and she also has draped material over the sides and back, so to save time and aggravation, I decided that the back and sides of the cap didn't need to be glued down as no-one could see them and the band would keep the cap taut. Only my forehead, and sides of my face needed to be glued.
With a lot of faff (and swearing) I managed it, and then used the pot of latex to dab over any obvious edges to help blend it to my skin.
Next up is doing the makeup on the head. The kit comes with a strip of 5 skin colours and 2 sponges. With a bit of trial and error I found the middle shade to be closest to my tone and began dabbing it on with the sponge. This is where it definitely becomes a 2 man job as you can't see if you've covered everything at the back without some Cirque Du Soleil style contortions. I grabbed my husband to finish off the dabbing, and, after a generous amount of dusting over with the powder to set it, all was done.
Now to get dressed and head off.
As I said earlier these caps are really a 'one use' kind of thing, but I had to wear it for 2 days, so at the end of day one I got the glue remover and one of the pointed cotton buds in the kit, and slowly and carefully started trying to get the cap off. I did manage it, but the bit that had split earlier split some more as I was removing it. Thankfully I had brought along a polystyrene head for the cap to sit on, so I got the latex out again and did a botch-up repair. It wasn't pretty, but it held, just.
The following day I had to cut a little bit more off the cap where the glue had mangled the edges, which meant that I had to stretch the cap a smidgeon more to get it to the same place. This wasn't much of a problem as the glue they provide really sticks, and the cap stayed put, but later in the afternoon the slight tension did start to hurt my head a bit.
Things I learnt:
For my next foray into bald caps I'm planning to buy a Kryolan Red Head Bald Cap Mould Block, and make my own, either from Glatzan or Latex, so that I don't have to cut it down.
I'd be able to make them specifically for my head dimensions, and it would be a damn sight cheaper than buying a cap each time.
Thanks for reading,
Karen Lee
Firstly, don't buy a Smiffy's bald cap. Although they are cheap, they smell awful (the smell did eventually lessen after I covered it in flowery talc for a few days, then let it air for a few more), and unless you have a small head, they are very tight, like a swim cap (I wouldn't be happy wearing it all day). It's also weird shaped - it leaves a crinkly pointed bit on the top.After doing a lot of research I fancied a Kryolan Glatzan Bald Cap, as you can blend away the edges with acetone to make it more realistic, but I had a limited budget, and the caps are around £15-20 each and near enough a one time only useage (so you can't even practice), and that's before I bought all the gubbins to attach it (glue, glue remover, acetone, make-up to cover).
As I had a head band for my character I decided that the full blend away effect wasn't needed, so went searching for more ideas.
I eventually came across a Mehron Bald Cap Kit. The kit has everything you need - latex cap, glue, glue remover, make-up, make-up applicators, dusting powder and a little pot of latex for blending to the skin (and quick repairs - I'll tell you later).Now I'd seen these for around £38-42, but I found one on eBay for only £22. I was a bit wary, as that price seemed too good to be true, but looked at the seller and discovered it was a fancy dress shop about 25 mins from me, so off I headed to buy it in person.
You only get the one cap, so again no practice can be done, so I watched a load of YouTube vids and hoped that I'd learn enough to be able to do it on the day.
The event arrived and I went for it.
First thing you have to do is cut the cap around the ears and forehead to get the fit. I had seen people cut it whilst wearing it on their head in the vids, this isn't as easy as it sounds, in fact it's really hard to do. I used some round-ended scissors, so that I didn't stab myself in the head whilst cutting - I'm clumsy! This, with hindsight, is a mistake, not the scissor part, but cutting it on your own head, as whilst doing my second ear, the tension on the latex meant that it split upwards when I did a slightly jagged cut.
Having the little pot of latex saved me at this point. I took off the cap, carefully, and dabbed some latex at the apex of the split, and built it up so the split wouldn't continue. Luckily for me the head band would cover this flaw. After this attempt I now know that next time I would mark out my ears and the 'cut lines' with a make-up pencil or similar, take the cap off my head and cut it without the tension, that way there would be smoother continuous cuts without the jagged bits that tend to split.
Cuts done, I put the cap back on, and carefully started glueing - another nightmare if you are trying to do this on your own. The vial of glue in the kit is small and narrow, and has a brush in the cap, so when you have one hand holding the cap out to get the glue under, the other has to negotiate a tube with an unstable base and a small opening - tricky. This led to a number of tip-overs, and therefore glue all over the sink, and my fingers, which doesn't work so well when fiddling about with thin latex.
My character Timov has the aforementioned headband, and she also has draped material over the sides and back, so to save time and aggravation, I decided that the back and sides of the cap didn't need to be glued down as no-one could see them and the band would keep the cap taut. Only my forehead, and sides of my face needed to be glued.
With a lot of faff (and swearing) I managed it, and then used the pot of latex to dab over any obvious edges to help blend it to my skin.
Next up is doing the makeup on the head. The kit comes with a strip of 5 skin colours and 2 sponges. With a bit of trial and error I found the middle shade to be closest to my tone and began dabbing it on with the sponge. This is where it definitely becomes a 2 man job as you can't see if you've covered everything at the back without some Cirque Du Soleil style contortions. I grabbed my husband to finish off the dabbing, and, after a generous amount of dusting over with the powder to set it, all was done.
Now to get dressed and head off.As I said earlier these caps are really a 'one use' kind of thing, but I had to wear it for 2 days, so at the end of day one I got the glue remover and one of the pointed cotton buds in the kit, and slowly and carefully started trying to get the cap off. I did manage it, but the bit that had split earlier split some more as I was removing it. Thankfully I had brought along a polystyrene head for the cap to sit on, so I got the latex out again and did a botch-up repair. It wasn't pretty, but it held, just.
The following day I had to cut a little bit more off the cap where the glue had mangled the edges, which meant that I had to stretch the cap a smidgeon more to get it to the same place. This wasn't much of a problem as the glue they provide really sticks, and the cap stayed put, but later in the afternoon the slight tension did start to hurt my head a bit.
Things I learnt:
- If you can, take the cap off to cut it.
- Try to have someone there to help you.
- Make sure you get the a bigger pot of glue (nail varnish size) so it doesn't tip over easily.
- Make sure you have proper remover to get the glue off - that stuff sticks!
- Wearing a bald cap was fun, but putting one on wasn't.
For my next foray into bald caps I'm planning to buy a Kryolan Red Head Bald Cap Mould Block, and make my own, either from Glatzan or Latex, so that I don't have to cut it down.I'd be able to make them specifically for my head dimensions, and it would be a damn sight cheaper than buying a cap each time.
Thanks for reading,
Karen Lee
