# Help With Spirit Gum Adhesive



## themyst (Sep 4, 2012)

I often dress up as a witch for Halloween, the typical green faced Wicked Witch of the West. 

I use the latex nose and chin prosthetic and follow the directions exactly ... applied to a clean, dry face, the spirit gum gets nice and tacky, then I apply the prosthetic. But within two minutes my face is sweating in areas that I didn't even know it was possible and the nose/chin come lose every time. 

I do not have an overly oily face, and I've even tried cutting holes in the nose and under the chin to allow for circulation, but it made no difference at all. Water literally dripped out of the holes! I've tried four different brands of spirit adhesive, from cheap to pretty expensive. 

What am I doing wrong?


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Same problem. I view spirit gum as a post it note, don't expect it to stay long...

Get some liquid latex to use as the adhesive. Coat the inside of the appliance, and your face, let both mostly dry and stick it on, then use it to blend the edges.


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## themyst (Sep 4, 2012)

Thank you! It's nice to know that there is a solution.

But, won't the sweat still accumulate in the nose and chin? Or does it not matter because the latex holds it on regardless?


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## spiney99 (Nov 1, 2010)

Be generous with the latex! Spirit sells them in quart bottles as well! you can also build a fake "skin" around the edges of the prosthetics to help blend and make them more real.. while also adding more staying power 
You may also want to run a trial or two before hand to get used to the application.


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## themyst (Sep 4, 2012)

spiney99 said:


> Be generous with the latex! Spirit sells them in quart bottles as well! you can also build a fake "skin" around the edges of the prosthetics to help blend and make them more real.. while also adding more staying power
> You may also want to run a trial or two before hand to get used to the application.


Thank you! I did use liquid latex just last year but only put it on the outside around the edges, I didn't use it as the major adhesive. I will play around with it, good suggestion.


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## metrodj (Aug 24, 2013)

Maybe try a different appliance. I had good results several years ago with a foam latex appliance from Scream Team. 

I haven't posted enough to include links, apparently, but if you google them it should work.


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## tomanderson (Dec 6, 2007)

You can try Pros-Aide adhesive. This is a medical adhesive available from many theatrical costume/makeup suppliers.

It is water-based but dries water-tight. Can be painted on two surfaces (your skin, the inside of the prosthetic edges) and allowed to dry, and then the two surfaces pressed together. You'll need an oil-based adhesive remover like Detachol to remove this adhesive from your skin.

It was incorporated into Dick Smith's makeup for Max Von Sydow in "The Exorcist"...specifically because it could stay on in extreme temperatures and while the actor was perspiring.

There are also quick-drying clear silicone adhesives (Kryolan has a good one) that will work similarly well, but these are fairly expensive. I used Kryolan silicone adhesive when applying rubber pieces to Robert Englund for one of the Freddy Krueger films. Fairly durable, but expensive.


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## tomanderson (Dec 6, 2007)

You can try Pros-Aide adhesive. This is a medical adhesive available from many theatrical costume/makeup suppliers.

It is water-based but dries water-tight. Can be painted on two surfaces (your skin, the inside of the prosthetic edges) and allowed to dry, and then the two surfaces pressed together. You'll need an oil-based adhesive remover like Detachol to remove this adhesive from your skin.

It was incorporated into Dick Smith's makeup for Max Von Sydow in "The Exorcist"...specifically because it could stay on in extreme temperatures and while the actor was perspiring.

There are also quick-drying clear silicone adhesives (Kryolan has a good one) that will work similarly well, but these are fairly expensive. I used Kryolan silicone adhesive when applying rubber pieces to Robert Englund for one of the Freddy Krueger films. Fairly durable, but expensive.


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## themyst (Sep 4, 2012)

UnOrthodOx said:


> Same problem. I view spirit gum as a post it note, don't expect it to stay long...
> 
> Get some liquid latex to use as the adhesive. Coat the inside of the appliance, and your face, let both mostly dry and stick it on, then use it to blend the edges.


I just wanted to update and let everyone know that this worked out great. My chin slipped a bit later in the evening but that could have been operator error, maybe I didn't put enough latex on as I was rather in a hurry when I did it. The liquid latex worked as a great adhesive for an evening, much better than spirit gum, which works so badly I still can't figure out why it is recommended by the witch nose/chin manufacturer as a method of adhesion. 

If I ever need to keep a prosthetic like this on the entire day I will try out TomAnderson's Pros-Aide recommendation, but for just an evening or few hour event, the liquid latex is great.


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