Bald makeup with soap -- how?
Dan Perez
I think it involves cutting up cubes of soap, soaking them in water and
applying the softened soap to your hair and then drying it.
Can you apply stage makeup (pancake or oil-based) over the soap treatment?
Is there a better method that doesn't involve a bald-cap?
-- Dan Perez
Visit my web page: http://home.houston.rr.com/dpstudios
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Charles R. Kaiser
how to "Soap Out" the hair.
If you can't find it in your school or local library, you can purchase a
copy via this link:
http://www.Chapters.ca/affiliate/itempage.asp?isbn=0138405395&affid=101404
Current price is $125.95 (cdn.) but ChapterOne members get 10% off. . .
--
Charles R. Kaiser HOKC
"Power corrupts, and absolute power is actually pretty neat."
- John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy 1981-1987
Pippa Williams
method?
> I think it involves cutting up cubes of soap, soaking them in water and
> applying the softened soap to your hair and then drying it.
I've only ever heard of this method being used by drag queens to smooth over
their eyebrows... but it gets VERY itchy (as dried soap usually does... as
it dries the skin out)
> Can you apply stage makeup (pancake or oil-based) over the soap treatment?
Yep, as far as i know they just apply the make-up (not sure what kind)
straight over the soap..
> Is there a better method that doesn't involve a bald-cap?
Sorry, can't help you out there... i only picked up this stuff listening
into converstations while on work experience a few years back at a make-up
college :o)
does anyone know if mortician's wax comes out of hair? (i seem to remember
that being a bit expensive though)
The last show i did, had a 14 year old playing our prime minister (John
Howard) he just shaved his head in the appropriate bald spots and wore a hat
to school... I was SO impressed with him for doing it.. and i helped him
shave the rest of it off on closing night hehe we joke that i helped
bump-out his hair ;o)
Steven J. Weller
"Dan Perez" <dpe...@houston.rr.com> writes:
> Can anyone tell me how to do a partially bald hairline with the soap method?
> I think it involves cutting up cubes of soap, soaking them in water and
> applying the softened soap to your hair and then drying it.
Gawd, soaping out hair... I guess some things never do go away.
As already mentioned, Corson's book (the best, still, after all these
years) has the straight skinney, and while it's expensive it's also
usually available in college libraries (if they have a good theatre
department) or sometimes as a used textbook.
The procedure is as you've described - soak cubed bar soap (like Ivory)
in water until it more-or-less dissolves into a thick, gooey paste,
then smooth it into the hair to slick it down to the scalp. This works
best with thin, straign hair, and won't work at all with thick, curly,
or kinky hair. Blow it dry with a hair dryer, and once it's set you
can cover it with makeup. Sealing it first would be wise, but try to
keep the sealer out of the rest of the hair, at the hairline (it's
tough to get out). Whatever kind of makeup you use, it shouldn't be
too wet, and must be applied carefully - soaped-out hair is VERY
fragile, and even a little rubbing will destroy the whole pate.
A better solution is usually to make a full wig with a bald portion,
just by (in the simplest version) attaching hair to a bald cap. You
can use crepe hair, yak hair, human hair, whatever - even craft fur can
be (and has been) used in a pinch, to passable effect. You might look
for National Hair Technologies in MA; they sell a wide variety of fake
fur and hair products, including one version that's actually tied,
strand-by-strand, into a net base (like a worked beard or moustache).
And they sell this stuff by the yard!
What will make any such hairpiece look passable isn't the qualty of the
hair, but the quality of the hairCUT. Use longer hair than needed,
then find a friendly barber with a sense of humor, and bring in the
actor wearing the wig. A good barber can make even Cookie-Monster
level fur look surprisingly hair-like with a proper cut
Bottom line, though, is that any of these solutions tend to look a bit
fake, up close. If you're far enough away for a soaped-out scalp to
pass, you're far enough away for a fair-to-middling bald cap wig to
pass, too. And it's a lot cheaper and easier to manage - soaping out a
hairline usually takes a couple of hours, at least.
> Is there a better method that doesn't involve a bald-cap?
Absolutely - cast an actor who either has the right hairline already,
or who will let you shave a part of his head. I've done it myself, I
know most other actors have done it (or similar things); it's just a
part of the gig.
--
Life Continues, Despite
Evidence to the Contrary
Steven