Using Liquid Latex for Your Halloween Costume

How to Manipulate the Appearance of Your Skin to Become a Witch, Zombie, and More

Using liquid latex to enhance your Halloween costume has never been easier. Latex used to belong strictly to the domain of the Broadway or Hollywood professional, but as Halloween has become a bigger producer of profits and made its way into the big league of semi-secular holidays, you can now find abundant supplies of liquid latex not only at Hollywood costume shops and party supply stores, but even at Walmart, Walgreen’s or your local grocery store.

Liquid latex is especially useful for manipulating the appearance of skin. Indeed, if your costume involves some kind of aging principle—such as making yourself look older or haggard—you really can’t even begin to think about seriously Halloween costuming without it. Nothing is better for creating wrinkles or that saggy skin look that really adds just the right touch of flavor when you are going out on Hollywood as an old person, a zombie or a witch.

Simply buy some liquid latex either in one of those small bottles with the brush attached to the lid, or in a larger jar which you can then apply with a small paintbrush. Whatever part of your skin you want to add wrinkles to must be stretched, as far as possible for the best effect. Smooth the latex onto the skin in a moderately thick coat. As soon as you release the skin back to its normal, unstretched state you will have wrinkles! The more latex you use, the more pronounced the wrinkles will be.

But that’s not all. Wrinkles are one thing, but this is Halloween we’re talking about right? You want to bring that skin into relief. If you are a zombie or some kind of mutant or an old haggard witch, you’ll want to add to the effect by tinting it. Although there are plenty of expensive coloring paints available on Halloween stores, save yourself a few bucks by investing in simple food coloring. You can mix and match the food coloring to create just the hue you’re looking for. If a witch, you may want a greenish tint to your new skin. If a mutant, maybe a nice reddish-orange nuclear glow. Experience for yourself to find out what looks best.