Ageing Of The Skin

In our first practical lesson with Sue, she demonstrated and explained to us how to age the face through creating wrinkles and enhancing specific colours on the face to age it. She went through health and safety points and all the products we would be using. She then demonstrated on one of the girls the ageing process that we would be doing. 

Products
Latex
Old age stipple 
Acetone
Barrier Cream
Foundation palette
Concealer palette
Kryolan supra colour palette
Illamasqua translucent powder
Range of brushes
Stippling sponges
Cotton buds
Hair Dryer

Health and Safety

• As you are working with latex you should always test the product on a part of your clients arm to test that they are not allergic. If a reaction is not is present such as heat/itchiness, then you may use the product. 
• Make sure you are working in a ventilated room. Keep the windows open if possible or open the doors. 

Process

• Place a gown around your client so no product can fall on them.
• On the area that you are applying the latex, you need to apply a barrier cream. If your client has sensitive skin then this is something you should do in particular. 
• The latex should be placed on areas with minimal hair to make the product easier to take off and so that it works better. For example, face, hands, neck and chest.
• When applying the latex ensure that the client keeps there eyes shut. This ensures that no product can get in the eye and the fumes from the latex are less likely to irritate. 
• Apply latex onto area that you want to cover using a stippling sponge in dabbing motions. You need to stretch the skin using two fingers to ensure that the wrinkles form. Stretch the skin as much as you can without hurting your client. 
• Using a hairdryer, set the first layer of latex. It will go clear when dry. Make sure you test the temperature of the hairdryer on yourself before your client. 
• Then apply another layer of latex using the same technique and dry until clear. Try and go over the layer you have already set so that a ridge does not appear.
• You should start to see the lines forming from the latex. You can move the skin around to enhance these. 
• Using acetone and a cotton bud, smooth out the edges to make the latex blend in with the skin. 
• The latex will appear shiny so applying a powder over the top with decrease this and it will appear matte. 
• To enhance the wrinkles you can apply colour to it. When looking at making the eyes seem older you can accentuate the colours already on the skin. We looked at adding a blue/brown colour under and around the eye. By asking your client to lift up there forehead/squint there eyes/smile you will be able to see where lines naturally appear. By placing a brown/blue shade onto these and blending into the skin the wrinkles can be enhanced producing wrinkles. 
• To remove, always use hot water. 

Reflection

Initially I thought that applying the latex was going to be the hardest part, however I actually found this quite easy and simple. The hardest part of the process was making it look as realistic as possible. With more time and practice I think adding a range of skin tone colours to the area would help. Phoebe left her make-up on so applying the latex around her foundation was difficult and the latex turned a different texture where they met. Adding a blue/brown colour around the face gave a really realistic aged face. If I were to complete the whole face using this technique I think it would look even better. I found that the colour needed blending a lot with my fingers. Overall I think all the techniques that I learnt in the lesson were effective and I would love to be able to practice them again to achieve an even more realistic look.