THE DESIGN: Facial Hair

DESIGN STATEMENT:

For this design, I took inspiration from the BBC show The Musketeers, as well as other musketeer-inspired media, to create a mustache/goatee style known as a Van Dyke beard, named after 17th century painter Anthony van Dyck. This style was popular in the 1600s, when The Three Musketeers was set. I plan to match the beard color as closely as I can to my eyebrows.

CHARACTER STATEMENT:

This character is a musketeer in 17th Century France. He's a man in his mid-thirties, white, and came from a moderately wealthy family before he became a musketeer. He's charming, quick on his feet, and quite flirtatious. He's a skilled swordsman and shot, healthy and athletic.

MAKEUP, MATERIALS, AND TOOLS

Facial Hair Supplies:

Human hair
Wig lace
Wig head
Cellophane (Blue and Clear)
Packing tape
Water
Cotton Rounds

Other Products:

Spirit Gum
Spirit Gum Remover
Hair Pomade

Tools:

Ventilation hook
T-pins
Flat head pins
Rat Tail Comb
Bristle Brush
1/4" rod curling iron
Sharpie
Galloon
Scissors
Razor
Thinning shears

THE PROCESS

Wrap clear cellophane around the lower half of the face, covering the mouth and upper lip but not the nose.
Cover the cellophane with clear packing tape to stiffen.
Sketch the shape of the mustache onto the tape.
Pin the mustache shape onto the facial portion of a wig block.
Cut a rectangle of wig lace that leaves 1.5 cm around the perimeter of the mustache.
Block wig lace on top of the sketch by pinning galloon around the perimeter of the lace square. Lace should be set up horizontally.
Begin ventilating mustache from the top. Feather the top edge by skipping a hole or two when tying hairs. Check that the mustache is symmetrical by ventilating the top edge of the mustache at once, rather than filling an entire half first.
Continue to ventilate by tying a single hair in each knot after around 1/8" of feathering. This is directional - each knot should be tied upwards and towards the center of the mustache to add volume.
Once the first several lines are ventilated, start tying knots with two hairs every other hole to increase speed.
Fill the mustache stencil to where the corners of the mouth sit and about 1/4" above where the stencil ends at the bottom.
Trim the hair on the mustache into shape, short in the center and longer on the sides. Use thinning shears to thin out the hair in the center of the mustache, and a razor to shape the sides of the mustache into a taper.
Use a 1/4" barrel curling iron to curl the center of the mustache downwards in two layers to introduce texture. Comb out.
Use a mixture of 1/4" and 1" Curling irons to curl the edges of the mustache up towards the cheeks.
Using a small amount of pomade, form the mustache into the desired shape.
Let dry.
Trim mustache lace so it's around 1/8" around the perimeter of the ventilated hair, or as close to the hair as possible on the underside.
Apply spirit gum to the face, following the shape of the lace on the top of the mustache, and add extra to the area around the corners of the mouth for extra stability.
Wait for the spirit gum to get tacky and sticky before applying the mustache to the face.

Facial Hair Sketch

Halfway through ventilation

Ventilation complete and removed from wig head

Facial hair cut and styled

REFLECTION AND CRITIQUE

I really enjoyed learning ventilation for the facial hair project. Getting into a rhythm and learning how to make everything work smoothly was a super enjoyable time. I was successful in finding a hair color that was nearly identical to mine so it could create more realistic facial hair. The feathering and shape of the top of the mustache looked good, but I ran into trouble with cutting and styling it. I didn't know what products would work best for the style I was attempting. I was also intimidated by cutting the hair, so I left it too long and need to trim it a bit more when it's restyled. There was also the issue of time when it came to ventilating the original facial hair, so I had to stick to just the mustache instead of the whole mustache and beard.

SCHEMATIC

PHOTO OF FINISHED PROJECT

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