I touched on facial hair briefly in my post about makeup, but here I’m going to go into more detail.
There are so many different styles of facial hair, and all are achievable in drag. Not all styles work with all types of songs or numbers, so you should look at your facial hair as a part of your costume. Using a combination of hair, makeup and shading you can completely transform your face.
Some of what NOT to do:
- Use coffee grounds and Vaseline. It looks like shit, and Vaseline really isn’t good for your face.
- Draw it on with a marker/Sharpie. It doesn’t look remotely realistic and generally looks really amateurish.
- Use a marker or eyeliner and draw lines that are supposed to look like hair on your face. If done CORRECTLY this method can work for some things, but it takes far more time and effort than most people doing it put into it.
There are many different types of adhesives out there that can be used for applying facial hair, from spirit gum to spray adhesive to hair spray and hair gel. Generally the type of adhesive used can help you with a specific type of look. I pretty much just use spirit gum, both the regular type and the water soluble. Because those are what I’m most comfortable with, that’s what I’ll focus on here but I encourage you to experiment and see what works best for you!
Ok, now on to the nitty gritty. First we start with the hair. If you have a hard-to-match hair colour, I highly recommend saving your hair after haircuts. That’s what I have to do because otherwise nothing matches. If your hair is a simple blonde, black or brown you can always go to a costume shop and buy swatches of hair.
If you want the closely trimmed look, either for a goatee, chin-strap, beard etc make sure that you cut the loose hair as small and fine as you can using sharp scissors. Cut and cut and cut and cut until it almost seems like a powder. You want as few stray long hairs left as possible. (TIP: do NOT be chopping up facial hair 15 minutes before a show. It makes you look like you’re unprepared and not ready. Have it prepped ahead of time.) I always cut a bunch up at a time and keep it all in a little container so I always have some.
Now, once you’ve got your foundation on, and whatever else you do before your facial hair, you can outline or shade where you want your facial hair to be. First, think about the numbers you’ll be performing; what would look best? What works best for the shape of your face? Are you going to be changing your facial hair from number to number or staying with the same one?
Once you’ve figured that out and you’ve outlined it, then grab your spirit gum. If you tend to be a little sensitive to regular spirit gum, I’d recommend trying the water soluble stuff. Kryolan makes it, and it’s much easier on the face. It also comes off with just water instead of spirit gum remover or oils. When you’re applying spirit gum make sure it’s not too thick. It should be a thin layer, left to dry slightly so that it’s tacky before you apply the hair.
There are a couple different ways to apply the actual hair; you can pinch some between your fingers and daub it on to the spirit gum, or you can take a wide makeup brush, dip the end into the hair and then on to the spirit gum. Both ways work, and there is no wrong way. I use both depending on what I’m wanting. The makeup brush method will give you a thinner layer, while using your fingers will make it a little thicker. As long as you clean it up afterwards both will look fine.
And clean it up you MUST! You cannot just slap hair on and leave it. This is where the eyebrow brush I mentioned in my previous post comes into play.
Stipple sponges can be cut to different sizes, depending on need. Basic usage is fairly simple: you daub the sponge on the makeup then daub it on your face. But beware: it can go from a neat 5 o’clock shadow look to looking like you have a dirty face in 3 seconds flat. Practice, practice, practice!
I hope this tidbit on facial hair helps those of you who had questions about it, whether you’re just starting out or are just doing your research. Remember, when it comes to performing, your face is your fortune, so make it a good one!