The Process Of Face Casting

Hello lovelies,

how have you all been? I've been pretty fantastic and very busy with school and D. A lot has happened since the last time I've posted. I'm about half way through Cosmotology! I started taking clients doing manicures, pedicures and facials at school. I was quite nervous to begin with but I love it now. Plus getting paid to do something at school is pretty great. lol. I LOOOVVVEEE facials. We do anything from basic steam facials, to microdermabrasion, and facials that deal with electrical currents. Fun, I know! I have also been preparing for my State Skills USA competition in April.

I wanted to go fairly big with this next fantasy look. Something that will make the other competitors nervous. (I'm horrible, I know) So I figured prosthetics would be the way to go with this next competition. But first I needed to do a face cast of my model. I had never done a face cast before this and honestly I was very nervous to do this because I was afraid I would block her airways. But after 2 weeks of research I found a way I was comfortable doing. I hadn't originally thought of writing the process of it here but it hit me right as I was pouring the plaster into the cast. But I just had to share. :]




                        Supplies    Needed
-Saran Wrap
-Spirit Gum/Prosaid
- Petroleum Jelly
-Makeup Remover (optional)
-Drape
-Trash Bags
-Scissors
-Bowl of warm water
- Hair Gel (optional)
-1lb Alignate
-7C water
-Plaster bandages
-Plaster


Step One

If this is your first time I suggest doing A LOT of research. The supplies can be pretty costly to create prosthetics  and it really would suck to have it mess up because we missed one crucial step and have to re up your supplies. I did a form of a client intake with my model, basically I made sure that she was not claustrophobic in any way. Explain to your model that the only part of their face that will be exposed is their nostrils for about 25-30 minutes. Also you will be using an adhesive to keep plastic over their hair so it is advised to do a patch test on your model especially if this person has never used Spirit Gum or Prosaid. Plus Having a friend or family member there to assist you make it SOOOO much easier. My best friend Dez helped me this time.



Step Two

Before you go pouring on your Alignate mixture you need to make sure he/she is wearing clothes that can get messy. Since we did this at school we did it in our black uniform scrubs and apron and we got MESSY!! Draping definitely helps avoid a big mess.  Bella, (BAY-AH) my model has long thick hair so Dez pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail and used gel to tame any fly aways. Next I applied Spirit Gum along the front of her hairline to her ears. Once it became tacky Dez and I carefully laid Saran Wrap on top of it and pressed until it was secured.  If your model is wearing any makeup, kindly ask them to remove all makeup. Since Alignate will stick to everything, you must use some kind of layer of protection over the eyelashes and to the brows or they will peel off with the mold. Vaseline, Petroleum Jelly or even Nivea's softening lotion will help keep lashes and brows intact.


One pound of Alignate will create one face mold with enough left over to probably cast a finger. lol. You will mix your Alignate with 7 cups of water. Now the tempetature of the water is crucial when mixing with Alignate.  Warm water will cause it to set within 3-5 minutes. Me and john did a trial run using warm water and it set way before we were even done using it. Cold water is ideal when casting the face because it will dry withing 10-12 minutes giving you time to work out any air bubbles and into smaller places like the nose.

Step Three

The Alignate I received changed 3 different colors when I was mixing. Lavender to begin with, then hot pink and finally white when I was ready. Since we had to stir such a large mixture we mixed it until it was a very very light pink before we started to apply it to her face. We started applying to the eyes, using our thumbs to push the alignate into the inner corners of her eyes where air bubbles can easily form. Next we moved to the cheeks and that is where we encountered a problem. Girls started crowding and were making her laugh. You want your model's face to be perfectly relaxed. Constant smiling or laughing will not create a sufficient mold. If anyone is around that will distract or mess around with your model  politely tell them to walk the hell away. :P  I told Dez to avoid her nose because I wanted to go in carefully and mold the nose just to make sure she could still breathe. When working around the nose use SMALL SMALL amounts of the mix and carefully go over the nose. By now I'm sure your wondering why I'm not mentioning the use of a straw, well that's because I didn't use one. I have read/watched numerous people who say not to use a straw and I can now see why. Straws distort the shape of the mouth.


Once the Alignate began to harden, we cut our  strips of plaster bandages and got a bowl with warm water. Carefully dip your strips into the water, avoiding any folding. If it does fold gently pull it apart. Layer the strips over the Alignate and rub evenly. Once again avoid layering on the nose, you will obstruct the model's air flow.  The plaster takes the longest to dry so we used 2 blow dryers on low to help cure it. Remember to talk to your model. Let them know what your doing, how long it should take for this and that to dry and always ask if they can still breathe. lol.



Once the plaster bandages have dried, dim the lights. Your model has been sitting in complete darkness for 25-30 minutes when your remove the cast bright lights can be too harsh on their eyes.  Since we couldn't dim the lights in the class room because It was client day, I carefully walked her into the classroom and dimmed the lights. Have him/her lean forward with yours or their hands on the cast, letting gravity work its sweet magic. Having him/her make funny faces helps release their face.



Step Four

Now you may have noticed the nostrils are still open. With that little bit of extra Alignate you didn't use, Mix up a small batch and fill in the nostrils through the plaster bandages and smooth it in and remove excess from the inside. Once that has hardened layer one or two bandages on it and allow it to dry. Always lay your negative mold in a bucket with sand or gravel, or anything that will allow it to lay even. Sitting the cast straight down will cause it to roll because of the nose. Personally I used a small Pyrex bread pan. It worked perfectly.

Next I mixed my plaster 1:1 and carefully poured it into my negative mold. The plaster will create a positive mold of the face. Once all the plaster is poured into the mold lightly vibrate the mold, I don't want to say shake because you're barely moving it. Any who this vibrating movement is to bring air bubbles to the surface and pop.  Now your play the waiting game for anywhere from 24 hours to 4 days. I had to wait about 3 days for it to dry.




Step Five


Removing your mold it fairly easy. Using a box cutter, carefully cut the plaster bandages until your feel it release from the Alignate. After removing the plaster, you can easily slip the Alignate off revealing your perfect positive mold. From here your will sculpt your look and so on and so forth.

I am thinking about Following up with another post that will show the sculpting and other processes.  I hope this helped someone.



:]

Esthetician Competition

Man it feels like forever since I've been on here! My life has been so hectic, my daughter is in school now and getting bigger each day. School is getting harder for me and I'm now taking clients in our salon now so I haven't had much time to write on here but I am promising myself to blog more starting today!


Any who, last week I competed in our regional SkillsUSA competition for esthetics. I had to preform a basic facial in 45 minutes, daytime makeup in 45 minutes and a fantasy look in an hour. Our competition theme this  year is Wizard of Oz so I decided to create a decrypted old witch. All in all I won 2nd place and get the chance to compete at State.  I did get a picture of a trial run I did on my model.

Products Used:

-Olay 24Hr Moisturizer

-Wolfe HydroColor White

-Wolfe Black Paint

-Elf Finishing Powder

-Maybelline Black Shadow

-Coastal Scents 88 Pallete

Understanding Hair color And Developers.

Have you ever been to a stylist to get your hair colored and had no friggin idea what she was talking about? Have you ever wanted a particular color and your hair came no where near that when you dyed it? Have you ever stood in a beauty store desperately staring at developers hoping the right one with just come off the shelf and land in your arms? Well I know I have, MANY times.
I honestly don't know how many times I've been disappointed that my hair color didn't turn out like the color on the swatch or box. I've stood in Sally's for what seemed like hours staring at developers hoping the right one would slap me in the face and say "You need me dumbass." That's why I'm writing this, to help just one girl like I was to understand hair color and developers.


Firstly, hair color starts off by identifying the level of your hair. By level I mean darkness/lightness. If your at a beauty supply, like Sally's for instance I remove the swatch from the shelf. (if you do it carefully it will pop back on.) If your going to a professional supply use a swatch book. Then hold it up against you hair and try to match it. If it matches that is the level of your hair.  Standard hair color levels are defined on a scale of 1-10. 1 is the darkest, blackest color and level 10 is the lightest, blondest color.  A basic scale would look like this.

Level 1- Black
Level 2- Darkest Brown                                
Level 3- Very dark brown
Level 4- Dark Brown
Level 5- Brown
Level 6- Light Brown
Level 7- Dark Blonde
Level 8- Medium Blonde
Level 9- Blonde
Level10- Light Blonde
                                                                           

After you have established you current color level and desired level, you must decide which tone you would prefer. Tones are put into 3 standard categories; cool, neutral or warm. Tones are usually indicated with letters.  This is an example of tones

Cool Tones                               Warm Tones
A- Ash                                       C- Copper
B- Blue                                      G- Gold
G- Green                                   W- Warm
V- Violet                                    R- Red
                                                R/B- Red Brown
                                                R/O- Red/Orange


Tones are usually mixed in formulas to create that perfect shade. For example the color I recently used on my hair is a 5RR from Matrix. So what would that be??? Its a Level 5 which is a darker shade, and RR is red with a red undertone.  So if I went with a 8VR what would that be??? a Level 8 which is pretty light, and the color would be violet with a red undertone. Are you still with me? :P

                                                                   
Now picking the right developer is quite easy once you understand color levels. Developers mainly come in 4 volumes; 10, 20, 30, and 40. a 10 volume mainly deposits color into the hair. It doesn't lift color at all. if you are wanting to go darker than your previous color or just darker in general use 10 volume. 20 volume mainly deposits color as well. Volume 20 is also best for gray, resistant hair and is the most commonly used. 20 Volume lifts color by 2 shades, an example would be going from a level 5 color to a level 7. You would use 20.  30 & 40 have the most lift but can but rather harsh to the hair. 30 volume lifts 3 shades and 40 lifts 4 shades. so if I was going from a level 3 to a level 7 I would use a 40 volume. Now if it cannot be achieved with a 40 volume then you must use lightener aka bleach.
you cannot go from a level 3 to a level 8 without a double process.

10V- No lift/Deposit only- Dark colors
20V- Best for gray hair/ Mainly Deposits/ Lifts 2 shades
30V- Lifts 3 shades
40V- Lifts 4 shades
Lightener- To lift higher than 4 shades.



I hope this helped at least one person understand color and feel comfortable and confident choosing color. Sitting in my theory class learning this I felt like a total dumb ass for not being able to understand or putting 2&2 together for the longest time. My light bulb finally clicked on after 10 years of coloring my hair. lol

Don't Go Into The Woods

The woods terrified me as a kid. Dark, untouched land shrouded from the world. The woods always seemed to have a life of their own. Full of things we don't see everyday and somethings that could frighten us. The woods always seemed creepy to me they still do. Either I've seen to many scary movies or read too many children's tales I always pictured walking too far into the woods and coming across a gigantic werewolf with an undying hunger for young meat. Or a decryptic, haggard old witch waiting for an innocent child to wander in. Either way this look was based upon my fear of the woods. 

I've been dying to take creepy pictures so they are just a tad edited with an overlay texture but that's about it. Here I built up my nose with latex turning it into an old, long turned down nose. I have been wanting to make a creepy mouth for a while and what's creepier than a huge mouth full of needles??  

PRODUCTS USED:

-Liquid Latex

-Kleenex

-White Face Paint 

-Black Face Paint

-Flexible Metal Wire

-Wire Cutters

Chemical Burn.

HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Oh don't pretend your not excited! It's my favorite holiday of all time. I love the spookiness and the enjoyment my sisters and daughter get out of dressing up and getting a couple pounds of candy.  Halloween is always a stressful all day kind of holiday. I spend the whole day planning out where were going, which costume goes to what kid, how many hours I have to do each makeup because my family and friends all think I have enough time to do huge elaborate pieces on them. Ah. lol Anywho. I restocked my sfx drawer with latex and misc. items in preparation for halloween. But you can't expect this girl to just wait until Halloween to crack open that latex and gelatine.... OOOOHHH no I must play with it.




The first thing I did was meant for movement or film since it bubbles and spews. Yummy right??

PRODUCTS USED:

Liquid Latex

Kleenex 

DermaBlend Translucent powder

Ben Nye Black FAce Paint

Fit Me Foundation 110

Snazaroo Brown Paint

Sugarpill's Poison Plum

Sugarpill's Love+

Bh Palette

It's A 10 Hair Masque Review

Ah fall, how I missed you so. Even though your a sign that cooler weather is approaching and my hair and skin should prepare to fight the winter chill. Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the cooler weather, changing of the leaves and seeing animals out and about gathering their food for winter. But the colder it gets the worst my skin and hair look and feel.  I've been noticing certain areas on my face are becoming drier and my hair is slowly feeling the same. This year fall made a quick exit and went straight to winter. It was colder here 2 days ago than it was in friggin Alaska!



I recently received It's A 10 Hair mask at Armstrong McCall as a gift for registering there. The owner is an absolute sweetheart. I heard so many great things about this product that I was excited to receive it in my gift bag.


It's A 10 mask has a lot of fragrance so if strong fragrance bothers you, I wouldn't recommend purchasing this.  I personally think it smell good but a little overpowering. The mixture is very light weight making it easier to remove when rinsing. So that's always a plus. I left this on for about 15 minutes and I didn't really notice a different. The only difference was that my hair smelled great and it was a little shinier.



I didn't enjoy it as much as some of my fellow cosmo girlies but I don't hate it. If you have dry-ish hair in need of A LITTLE  moisture I would recommend this. But don't expect this to work wonders. It's an alright product over all. 

Kenra Nourishing Masque Review

Being in cosmetology has it's ups, one great example is getting professional cards to Professional beauty stores. Getting to purchase high end colors, and shampoos/conditioners that aren't water down, repurposed and sold to walmart for cheap is rather refreshing.

One of the purchases I've made recently was the Kenra Nourshing Hair Masque. Like I've said previously I'm not much of a hair person. I don't do alot of shopping for hair products, washes or accessories. But I really needing a good hair masque. I think clean shiny natural hair is the most beautiful hair style. Anywho I purchased this masque for $22. This masque is a deep conditioner that is meant to repair and reconstruct dry, damaged hair. It has UV filter and antioxidants to prevent damage from the sun, and environmental stress plus prevent color fading.



I absolutely love this! I leave it on for 15 minutes once a week and it leaves my hair incredibly silky, softer than ever and intensely shiny. I have pretty coarse hair with minimum damage and it just transforms my hair. After I use this I just can't stop running my hands through my hair. Usually my hair is pretty tangled and slightly frizzy after I let it air dry, but when I use this deep conditioner my hair goes from lion's mane to sleek and tamed. I highly recommend giving this bad boy a try.