Gelatin - Pouring and Application

Early on in my makeup journey I decided I wanted to experiment with non-latex products because I know that latex allergies are fairly common. In my searching I heard about using gelatin to make prosthesis. After watching numerous videos including this one and this one I decided to just go ahead and order some products online. I know that you can purchase glycerine and gelatin from a drug store or supermarket, but sorbitol seems a bit harder to find so I would suggest buying it online. Some sources say you can use sugar free maple syrup (as long as it has sorbitol as one of the top ingredients) instead of 70% sorbitol, but it has a much lower percentage as well as an added color and scent. I have also heard that you should use a high blooming gelatin. I had trouble finding this product for a reasonable price so I decided to attempt the "home" method and use a regular gelatin of unknown bloom strength. Below you can see the products and molds that I used.

 To start this project you need a mold prepared with mold release. You can read about making plaster molds in my previous post. I decided to use a mixture of 1 part gelatin, 2 parts sorbitol, and 2 parts glycerine. I ended up choosing this ratio because I had watched so many videos that it seemed as if it was best I just try something out. This ratio may change based on your specific ingredients. I ended up being very happy with this ratio but I plan to try out some other ratios as well. I mixed the ingredients in a pyrex measuring cup and used a metal spoon to mix everything together.

To heat everything up it is important that you only microwave the mixture for 5 to 10 seconds at a time. If the gelatin mixture begins to boil the finished prosthetic will have lots of air bubbles in it, making it weaker. But, it is also important to heat the mixture enough such that all the gelatin has a chance to bloom into the liquids. If the gelatin does not bloom all the way you will get a grainy, rough, and weak appliance. Below is a photo showing the difference between two appliances; the one on the left was not heated long enough.

As you can see, the appliance on the right is much clearer, smoother, and didn't tear when I stretched it.

Back to pouring: Once your mixture is hot enough let it sit for a moment or two (but not more than a minute) to release some of the bubbles that have inevitably formed. Pour the gelatin mixture slowly into your mold and spread it out. Below you can see my professor spreading out the gelatin with the tip of the spoon to help create some thinner edges.

I then let the molds dry over night but they could be removed as soon as the gelatin has set. I used powder while slowly removing the appliances from the mold. Below you can see the appliances didn't come out very nicely and one of them ripped entirely (top left). This was because my first batch was not heated enough.

After trying again the pieces came out much better. Something interesting I noticed is that the plaster molds absorbed some of the gelatin mixture from the first pour and made the plaster hydrophobic. This was a surprise to me, but helped the next batch come out of the molds better and latex came out especially well.

My first experience with applying gelatin was a big learning experience. I decided to apply a latex and a gelatin appliance in the same look.

The application process for the gelatin appliance is very similar to latex. I started by gluing the appliance to my face. Gelatin appliances are very comfortable because they move with your skin well. 

Here is the overall look I created, and following are some tips for using gelatin appliances. 

First, after gluing I decided to cover the prosthetic in pros-aide the same way I cover the latex with glue. Ultimately I think this is not a good idea because it detracts from the more realistic skin texture that Gelatin can provide. 

Create appliances that aren't round. 

This wart appliance does not naturally fade into the area around it because 1) it is round which makes it stand out unnaturally and 2) the edges were a little thick. When applying warts or small objects I would like to explore the idea of having as little of a base as possible by creating individual warts rather than one whole appliance. 

I also experimented with my knife wound application and learned more lessons:

This application looks good from a distance because the natural color of the un-made up gelatin naturally fades into my skin color. I would definitely do this process again for knife wounds of this type. 

Another lesson I learned is to use hot water to melt the edges of the appliance.  Although some edges are still visible, the appliance makes a much smoother transition into my arm after being melted with hot water.

The best edges I was able to create were edges that originally had flashing on them. Flashing is the excess material around the edges of an appliance that are intentionally created (to be removed). The area between the flashing and the appliance is blended as a very thin edge. In the picture below you can see the flashing especially well against the white t-shirt. 

Thanks for reading! I will be posting some exciting life casting soon! 

Supplies:
mold
mold release
gelatin
sorbitol
glycerine
microwave
microwavable container
heat safe stirring implement