Dramatic Context
Georgia Brown
Postiche | Technical Processes:
Beard Construction:
Naturally theres three or four colours in anyones hair. -Mimicking natural hair growth is very important, knotting direction is visibly accurate -bulk knotting or double knotting isnt necessary and unrealistic! Will look false. -think about dressing the beard and cutting it appropriately. -postiche should always be separate pieces ie... Beard, moustache, sideburns all separate -do not knot too thick, single knotting. Not every hole is knotted with a hair. -in HD the beards are hidden by being applied just under the natural hair line- the hair is drawn over the top of the lace edge. Or more hair is laid over the top -for a false beard you wouldn't go any lower than the adams apple, this can cause complications in the lace application -always make sure the beard reaches the hairline- using a tail comb to lift the sideburns for measurements -the denseness will come from curling the beard or dressing it. -you dont want to knot something overly thick.. One every fifth hole and fourth row is usually accurate
Beard Construction and Whipping
Cling film template:
-Not too tight, mimic the shape of the jaw - cover the template in Sellotape -measure from the front of the hairline to the front of the ear -straight down in front of the ears and down under the jawline -follow the front of the hairline and straight down to join under the lip. -take measurements: beard: top of the sideburn to the pivot point of the jaw in cm; then from the pivot of the jaw to the centre of the chin; then underside of the lip, down the centre- fitting to the face and reaching the adams apple. -remove any excess cling film with scissors -check the structure- making sure it holds. -if buying a wooden block a 56-58 is recommended -Sellotape your measurements to a block- check the symmetry on both sides ensuring its equal. -stuff out the template with tissue to secure it down
Directions: - you need to stimulate the growth direction naturally. The growth pattern from the front is straight down. Anywhere above the jawline is uniformed and straight as a growth. -underneath the jawline the hair will grow upward and forward. The two sections should meet at the chin point.
Laying the Lace on the block: -Where the camera sees the beard keep the lace at a horizontal.. This ensures your knotting to be in a downward pattern. -sit your anchor points just outside of the markers, excess lace will eventually be cut away - more anchor points added just below the pivot of the jaw either side and one central under the chin- avoiding the marked beard(below it) -create darts with nylon thread by folding the lace inward towards the centre and pin them in place with dress pins. -whipping is sewing the darts down.
-use boiling water to straighten a synthetic wig -buy two rather than one. One to take apart and one as a base. -you can cut the second wig or the 'supply' wig and use them for knotting hair -when you put your lace piece onto someones face or head it should always be clean -you need an astringent to take away the glue grease Hard front wig means there is no lace, they look like wigs rather than real hair. They are synthetic and you can paint onto them with grease paint or aqua colour. However, you cannot re-use them. -Cotton wools with muslin cloths wrapped around (made up pads) for cleaning.
-to start: allow the lace wig to sit in acetone for a while to soak up any glue. Make sure to wear gloves (acetone resistant gloves) -acetone will melt synthetic hair - place a pad underneath the lace and one directly above. Then rub the lace in between to clean For a receding hairline: Do a template for a bald cap: wet and wrap the hair... Do two cross grip anchor points on the head in preparation for the lace wig. When making the cling film template draw on the natural hairline and then the new hairline in a different colour. If you are going to pierce the bald cap by sewing a wig into it at all then you need either around 20 layers of cap plastic to stop the cap plastic splitting or add a swatch of lace into the wet layers of cap plastic over the anchor points to keep it from splitting when piercing it.
Re fronting a wig: Pin the wig to the block further back than the hairline. Once you know where the wig is going to sit then take it off and apply lace onto the block. There cant be any darts close to the new hairline. They must be at least 2cm either side of the new hairline (if too close they will reflect light and show through the wig). When pinning the lace to the block you might need to alter your angles to ensure there arent any darts close to the new hairline. Create darts in the lace away from the hairline- pin them in place. Then with thread loosely transfer the new hairline onto the lace from ear to ear. Re-pin the wig to the head to see where your darts sit.
Next whip the darts and remove the wig: Start by bulk knotting.. Place pins where the wig will sit from ear to ear. Only whip whats infront of the pinned line- tiny darts usually. Dont worry about what is behind the dotted line. After youve added the darts use long small pins to connect the nett and the wig- they are currently disconnected. Once its pinned to the lace turn it inside out and sew the wig to the nett across the hairline, cut the excess lace off underneath the wig and sew another line a few cm back To apply a false wig to your model... Take a template of your models head with cling film and Sellotape. If you are re fronting a wig then you will need to take that template and apply it to a block head. Do knotting samples and practise with crape hair
Anderson, L. (n/a). Facial Hair Application, Stan Winston School. [DVD] Prosthetics studio: Stan Winston School.
Lace Moustache:
Apply spirit gum, moustache will be applied last. work from the bottom up.
Matte it down with tights to ensure it is tacky. making sure there is adhesive on the skin.
when putting a lace moustache down it works better to lift, put it down, lift, put it down so that it creates a tacht.
with a moustache you trim the lace so close that you generally dont need to lay hair over the top. With a beard lace you may want to lay hair over the beard lace for a more natural finish
Crepe wool: Isnt real hair, some hair is short and some is long. Good for practise as its cheap. You have to steam it or put it in hot water and let it dry to take out the kinks.
Prepping the hair is necessary, must be done prior to any application. Ie mixing the hair and blending it together.
Yak and human hair is used for beard work. You have to have the hair crimped to do beard work.
Apply astringent & Derma Shield to models skin. This is goodto use for sensitive skins and removing the facial hair with ease.
The knotting process became very repetative and time consuming and I struggled to perfect the technique required to accurately finish the mustache. The below images are my first two attempts of knotting the mustache and I later had to start again for the third time. The colour and shape was inaccurate and I picked a hole in the lace whilst knotting the second mustache. I had to start again after watching different tutorials and seeking advice from a tutor.
Below: Information I found useful on the different application process and the techniques I followed whilst applying the postiche to my models face.
Research | Encouraging Techniques:
Corey, I. (1991). THE FACE IS A CANVAS, The: Design and Technique of Theatrical Make-up. (n/a) U.S. Anchorage P.
-Mustache pattern is traced from the models face
-Pinned to a malieable block with the lace hole lines running horiziontally
-Both sides will be knotted in a different direction
- Curled into barrel curls using small hot curling tongs
-The hair is then combed through and trimmed to the desired length
-Shaped into place with tongs and coated with hairspray.
Delemar, P. (1994). The Complete Make Up Artist: Working in Film, Fashion, Television and Theatre. 2nd Edition. Cengage Learning Vocational.
-Make sure the skin is clean and free of grease, if unsure use an astringent
-To ensure a good fit, shape the lace for the beard into at least four pleats underneath the chin (I took this into account and used the method on the beard I knotted which has four darts in the lace).