Making a Mold of a Face

     Making  a mold of a face is fairly simple.  There are several ways to do this.  I will describe some of these ways here.  When you are finished, you should have a cast replica of someone's face that looks good, and is permanent.  Of course, other body parts, such as hands and feet, can be cast using the same techniques.  I will begin with a cast using wax and plaster.  I will add other methods when I get them done and photographed. 

     To begin, place your wax in a double boiler.  The double boiler can be any pot that can be used on the stove to heat water.  I use a small pot of water with a large can placed inside it.  You only want to heat the water and the wax to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  Any hotter, and it may burn the skin.  I use a candy thermometer to check the temperature.  I also place some of the wax onto the inside of my arm to make sure that it isn't too not.  When the wax is the correct temperature, you can take the pot off the stove to start applying. (Figure 1)

     Next, make sure that your model is comfortable.  Protect the hair with a cloth.  Be sure to get all loose hair under the cloth. I have also covered her clothing with an old towel. (Figure 2)

     You have to be sure that your model can breathe easily during this procedure, which can take as long as 30 minutes.  My model chose to breathe through a large milkshake straw, which I had cut into three pieces. (Figure 3)  You can also place plastic straws in the nostrils.  I find this unnecessary, since I am not going to put wax inside the nostrils. After we got started, my model decided that breathing through her nose would be enough.  This allowed me to paint the wax over her lips in order to get a better impression.  If you do it this way, be sure that you leave the nostrils open.  Of course, if the model gets panicky, she can always just reach up and remove the whole thing.  It just lifts right off.

     In figure three, you can see that I have begun to apply the melted wax.  I use a 1" wide brush.  I have covered her eyes with small ovals of paper towel to protect her eyelashes and eyebrows. I seal the edges of the paper to her skin with wax.  Then I can just paint the wax right over the paper.  I don't really know if the wax would pull out her eyelashes and eyebrows.  I am not going to find out, either. (Figure 3) 

     Here is the completed wax mold.  I have built it up with repeated layers of wax until it is around 1/8 of an inch thick. (Figure 4)

     Next, mix up your plaster.  Ordinarily, your plaster is mixed with two parts plaster to one part water.  I use a little less water in order to get a thicker plaster.  I use two cups of plaster to about 3/4 cup of water. It should be like very thick gravy.  Just spoon it on over the wax, being sure not to get any into the nostrils.  I use my hands and a spoon.  The plaster will be hard enough to remove in 5-10 minutes. (Figure 5)

     I had my model lean forward and helped her to gently rock the mould back and forth. (Figure 6)

It now falls off easily. (Figure 7)

     Here she is with the completed face mould.  As you can see, she is quite alright. (Figure 8)