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How to Make Head Molds

Before you make a Halloween mask or replica of a human head, you need to make a mold. To make a mold of a human head, you need to create a safe and sanitary shell using products that won't harm the skin. Silicone doesn't harm the skin and, more importantly, creates a smooth, unbroken mold. A layer of plaster is used to create the shell in which the mold will be made. Making a mold of the human head is a messy process, so work on a surface that is covered with painter's tarp to protect the floor.

Things You'll Need

  • Painter's tarp
  • Chair
  • Ear plugs
  • Skull cap liner
  • Release cream
  • Quick setting silicone for molds
  • Plastic buckets
  • Paper cup
  • Small paint brushes
  • Hollow plastic tube or heavy duty straw
  • Medical grade plaster bandages
  • Scissors
  • Resin
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Instructions

    • 1

      Lay a painter's tarp on the floor. Put a chair on top of the tarp and have the subject sit down. Insert an ear plug into the each ear to prevent the silicone from entering the ear cavity. Attach a skull cap liner to the top of the head to cover the hair. Apply release cream to the head, face and neck to prevent the silicone from adhering to the subject. Insert a hollow plastic tube or heavy duty straw into the subject's mouth so he can breathe once the silicone is applied.

    • 2

      Mix the quick-setting silicone in a plastic bucket per the manufacturer's instructions. Pour some of the prepared silicone into a paper cup for easier handling.

    • 3

      Apply the silicone to the subject's face with a small paint brush. Cover the entire head, including the face, ears, mouth, nose and neck. Work quickly and cover the head before the silicone sets. The subject's eyes need to be closed. Cure the silicone for at least five minutes.

    • 4

      Cut medical grade plaster into strips, about 2 feet in length. Apply bandage strips vertically to the back half of the head. The entire surface of the silicone should be covered. Apply bandage strips vertically to the front half of the head. Work around the breathing tube. Cure the bandages for 15 minutes until they are dry.

    • 5

      Grab the front half of the plaster bandage shell with your hands and pull it off the subject's head. Grab the back half of the shell with your hands and pull it off the subject's head.

    • 6

      Cut a line through the silicone up the center of the back of the head from bottom to top.

    • 7

      Grab the bottom corners next to the cut line and slowly peel the silicone away from the subject's head.

    • 8

      Connect the two halves of the plaster bandage shell. Insert the silicone mold into the shell. Secure the shell by wrapping it with heavy duty rubber bands or more plaster bandages.

    • 9

      Prepare a resin mixture per the manufacturer's instructions. Pour the resin into the mold and let it dry.

    • 10

      Remove the shell and silicone mold from the resin to reveal the mold of the head.

Sculpture

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