Recipe 12 : Which SFX Makeup Glue is the Best? & Remover?
- Koji Ohmura
- Nov 11
- 7 min read
How were your Halloween costumes and makeup? Did you get many candies while Trick or Treating? Did you scare many friends at the Halloween Party? Or did you have a difficult time removing makeup after the party? It is so typical that some people forget to use proper glue and remover for special effects makeup and have a chaotic removal time after midnight. Definitely, you do not want that. I hope this article helps you with your next makeup!
When you go to a makeup store, you will see many kinds of glue on their shelves. But you may be hesitant to ask a question, and some of them are very expensive! I will explain what glue can be used for each situation.
Special Effects Glue and Remover
Materials I explain in this article...
Spirit Gum
Pros Aide
Beta Bond
Telesis 5, 6, 7, 8
Westmore SilcOne Adhesive
Silabond
Super Baldiez
W.M. Creations Xtra Hold Spirit Gum
Walker Tape Ultra Hold
Smooth On Skin Tite
99% Alcohol
244 Fluid
Beta Solve
Supersolve
Isopropyl Myristate
C-22 Solvent
Pro Wipe
Derma Shield
Barriere Cream
E-DAP Cream
Material links are here.
Lecture Video
Removal Video
How to Use - Spirit Gum has been in this industry since the 1870s. I normally use this for facial hair or wigs. You can brush this on your skin and tap with your finger or brush until it gets tacky. Then, place loose hair or a wig. If you use this too much, it gets crispy, so I do not recommend using too much. If you want to reduce its shine, tap a pantyhose on the shiny area, or brush on Monistat Chafing Cream.
Remover - You will need 99% alcohol for Spirit Gum. Please make sure to use skin moisturizer after removal. I know some people use Bond Off for this. However, many people tend to get allergic reactions from Bond Off.
How to Use - Pros-Aide is a water-based medical adhesive. It is safe for the skin and very gentle. It is a contact adhesive; you need to apply it to both the skin and the back of the prosthetic and let them dry before attaching them together. Press down the prosthetic with your finger to bond. You can use it for latex, gelatin, foam latex, silicone prosthetics and others. Also, you can create Bondo by mixing Pros-Aide and Cabosil. It is good for making hard edges smooth. When you mix Cabosil, please do not inhale. Also, please be aware that Pros-Aide gets less tacky when it is frozen. Therefore, you do not want it to be checked in for airplane travel.
Remover - You can use 99% alcohol or 244 liquid for removing Pros-Aide. You can also use Isopropyl Myristate, however, I noticed it tends to get gummy sometimes. 244 & Isopropyl Myristate are both gentle on the skin.
How to Use - Beta Bond is also an acrylic adhesive like Pros-Aide. However, it is not a contact adhesive. Therefore, you can just brush it on the skin and put a prosthetic on right away. You do not need to wait for it to dry. I like using this for gelatin prosthetics and bald caps.
Remove - Beta Bond can be removed with Beta Solve. PPI makes this as well. It takes a little more effort to remove this completely. You will see many gummy balls. Beta Solve works really well to remove temporally tattoos, too.
How to Use - PPI's Telesis 5 was a standard silicone glue for a decade. However, they discontinued Telesis 5-7 a few years ago. Now they only sell Telesis 8. It works great for silicone prosthetics and foam latex. Brush it on both the skin and the back of a prosthetic. Then, dry it for a few seconds until it gets tacky when you touch it. Attach them together. For foam latex, you can use Pros-Aide as well. Although Telesis is much more expensive than Pros-Aide, Telesis might be easier to remove. Do not use it for gelatin prosthetics. It does not stick well.
Remover - You can use PPI's Super Solv or Super Solv Plus. Some people might be allergic to Super Solv. Then, Isopropyl Myristate is great for them. Isopropyl Myristate is used to make liquid foundation normally. If you see any irritation after removal, you can apply EDAP to heal redness.
How to Use - SilcOne is my favorite glue at this moment. SilcOne is very similar to Telesis 8. In my opinion, it bonds better than any other silicone makeup glue. It is a little harder to remove, but it means that it works really well. Brush it on both the skin and the back of a prosthetic. Then, dry it for a few seconds until it gets tacky when you touch it. Attach them together. You can also use SilcOne Thinner to dilute for your convenience.
Remover - You can use Isopropyl Myristate or 244 Liquid.
How to Use - Silabond is very similar to Telesis 8 and SilcOne. Brush it on both the skin and the back of a prosthetic. Then, dry it for a few seconds until it gets tacky when you touch it. Attach them together. They also sell thinner but the glue is thin enough already and might need to use it for a regular application.
Remover - You can use Isopropyl Myristate or 244 Liquid.
How to Use - Pros-Aide Cream is a thicker version of Pros-Aide. You can use it as a regular prosthetic glue. It just takes longer to dry when it is thick. Because of that, it works really well for applying loose hair. Since it has some thickness, when it dries, it looks like hair is coming out from its surface instead of laying on the skin. More flexible than Spirit Gum. You can also use Pros-Aide Cream for adding textures on the edge of prosthetics by stippling with a sponge.
Remover - 244 Fluid is good for removing Pros-Aide Cream.
How to Use - Super Baldiez is made for making a bald cap. I use this for laying lace hairpieces. When it dries, the lace of the hairpieces disappears. You can thin it with 99% alcohol. When you think it is too shiny, you can add TS100 when it is still liquid.
Remover - 99% Alcohol works great. You can use alcohol to take the glue off from lace pieces. You need to let the lace piece sit in alcohol until it softens and massage it gently.
WM Creations Xtra Hold Spirit Gum
How to Use - This Xtra Hold Spirit Gum is a reformulated version of regular Spirit Gum by Matthew W. Mungle. It also comes with "Special Xtra Hold," "Super Matte," and "Xtra Hold Plastic." These work in the same way as regular Spirit Gum but are even stronger. You can brush this on your skin and tap with your finger or brush until it gets tacky. Then, place loose hair or a wig. If you use this too much, it gets crispy, so I do not recommend using too much. If you want to reduce its shine, tap a pantyhose on the shiny area, or brush on Monistat Chafing Cream. I normally use this for theater makeup. Since actors in theaters need to sing and dance a lot, it requires stronger bonding. This glue is perfect for the use.
Remover - You will need 99% alcohol for Spirit Gum. Please make sure to use EDAP skin moisturizer after removal. You can also use Isopropyl Myristate after removing lace pieces.
How to Use - If you need extra strength for lace wigs, this Walker Tape will work well. Clean your skin with 99% alcohol first. Then, apply 2 thin layers of this liquid tape. Let it dry until it is tacky. Then, place your wig on it. It is extremely strong and good for daily use, sports or swimming. Great for theater as well. Thanks to John Blake who is a master for lace hair pieces and also a owner of John Blake Wigs.
Remover - You will need Walker Tape C-22 Solvent. Spray this on the glued area. Let it sit for 1 minute. Then, use a brush to massage and remove the wig. Use shampoo to remove the residue.
How to Use - Skin Tite is silicone glue and comes with 2 parts. Mix a 50:50 ratio of A and B. Then, hold your prosthetics on the skin with this Skin Tite for 5 minutes. Add Thi-Vex to make Skin Tite thicker. Then, fill edge gaps with thickened Skin Tite. This glue is very different from other glues. You do not need a remover. I use this for makeup when they want to remove prosthetics on camera. Since it does not require a remover, actors can rip it off. Imagine the scenes when Tom Cruise removes his masks in Mission Impossible movies. Just make sure your prosthetics are NOT latex. This silicone glue does not cure on latex.
Remover - No Needed!
Removers for Tattoo Transfers
Pro Wipes - This is used a lot at auto shops. It cleans any oils and dirt. I use this for temporary Tattoo Transfers. It removes very well and is gentle on your skin.
99% Alcohol - Since Tattoo Transfers normally have a layer of Pros Aide, 99% Alcohol will remove temporary Tattoos.
Beta Solv - Sometimes 99% Alcohol does not remove certain Tattoo Transfers. Then, Beta Solv is another option.
244 Fluid - This is another option to remove tattoos if 99% Alcohol does not work well.
For Sensitive Skin
Use primer such as Derma Shield or Well Skin's Barriere Cream before applications.
If you have any skin irritation or dryness, add EDAP cream after removal.
This blog is very different from others. These are all my personal opinions from my experience. You can try them and see which one is your favorite glue and remover. I hope this article will help you buy glues and removers for your makeup.
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