How To: Fake Cuts!
…Emily here!
I am a self-taught horror make-up enthusiast! My background is in fine arts and theatre and so it wasn’t a stretch for me to become enthralled with the world of fake blood and liquid latex! Every year around Halloween I get lots of questions about my various make-up techniques and so, thanks to the lovely Amy here at Home James, I am sharing them through this blog. Over the next few weeks I’ll show you some of the stuff involved in creating the perfect gory look for your next Halloween party!
Cuts!
Cuts and scrapes are a good way to freak out your friends this Halloween and are a good gateway to creating more complex horror looks.
What You Need:
Cream Make-up: (The make-up pictured is the Ben-Nye master bruise wheel)
Red
Dark Red
Dark Blue
Yellow
Green
Foundation that matches your skin tone
Liquid Latex
Scar Wax
Spirit Gum
Blood (The make-up pictured is Fresh Scab by Ben Nye)
Sponges
Brushes
Setting Powder
Baby Oil (not pictured)
Step One
Take a small bit of scar wax and roll it into a worm like shape as long as you would like your cut to be. Note: Scar wax gets very sticky as your hands warm it up, to keep it from sticking to your hands coat your fingers in a little bit of baby oil.
Step Two
Brush some spirit gum over the place you’d like to create your cut. Let it dry a little so that it is more tacky than wet. Place the piece of scar wax on top and hold it down for a few minutes to let it stick.
Step Three
Begin to blend the edges of the wax into your skin. You want to keep the edges thin and the middle more built up but not too noticeably swollen. If the wax becomes sticky add more baby oil to your fingers and continue to smooth down.
Step Four
Coat the smoothed down wax with several layers of liquid latex. For cuts 3 or 4 layers should be fine.
Make sure to smooth the latex down quickly before it becomes sticky and outward from the middle of the cut area so the edges are thin and flush with your skin. You can wait for each layer to dry before applying the next or use a hair dryer to speed things along.
Step Five
Using palette knife (or some other thin, but not too sharp, tool) slice into the now dry latex and wax. Depending on the look you want you can make a clean slice or a jagged one.
Step Six
Now it’s time to paint! Using a sponge, dab a skin tone over the latex and blend the edges into your skin.
Note: Cream makeup has an ingredient in it that can break down latex. If you want your makeup to last longer you should apply a coat of castor oil over the latex before applying any makeup. For the purposes of this tutorial I have skipped this step.
Step Seven
Take your dark red and a small brush and fill in the cut.
Using a sponge, begin to dab some brighter red over the cut and outwards to the area around. Build up as necessary. Fill in any cracks or nicks in the wax with dark red.
Step Eight
With the fake blood, fill in the cut and dab a little bit around the cut. For this tutorial I’ve used a gel based blood (called Fresh Scab) instead of the typical liquid types to create a more coagulated look. This type stays put and does not run. Whatever type you use is completely up to you!
Step Nine
When you’re done, brush a little setting powder over the cream make-up to make it all last!
Don’t forget to check out bruises here!
