How To Apply Elf Ears: The Tutorial Video
The tutorial video includes more in depth instructions on how to apply elf ears including tips on proper ear placement, ear prep, cleaning and makeup blending. If you would like to skip straight to mixing adhesive jump to the 9:20 mark.
What Adhesive Should be Used
Silicone elf ears and fx can be glued on with a silicone adhesive such as SkinTite. A sample of this is included with each purchase (marked A&b). Skin-tite can be purchased on line at Amazon and directly from Reynolds Advanced Materials An acrylic emulsion adhesive such as pros-aide can also be used. I prefer SkinTite silicone adhesive for application of our elf/character ears because it is waterproof and long lasting yet easy to remove, and it doesn’t leave the kind of residue that most makeup adhesives do. Therefore the video tutorial and the following instructions will refer to skinTite (or other brand of silicone adhesive) when discussing the application of the ears.
Important Information About Silicone Adhesive
Skin Tite is a two part skin safe silicone, full product information can be found at https://www.smooth-on.com/tb/files/Skin_Tite.pdf below are application instructions from the manufacturer.
- Store and use all products at room temperature
- Warmer temperatures will reduce pot life and accelerate the cure time of Skin Tite®
- Adhesive may be inhibited by certain contaminants such as latex, skin oils, aloe vera,
Step by Step Instructions
Important! Clean Ears Before Application
- The wearer’s ears should be washed with a gentle soap so that they are free of any powders or skin oils, the glue will not work otherwise. Dry the ears before applying the adhesive
- Mix equal amounts of parts A and B. Skin Tite® can be hand mixed. Aggressively hand mix for 30 seconds, making sure that you scrape the sides and bottom of your mixing container several time
- Brush a small amount of Skin Tite® onto the appliance or surface of the skin
- Hold the appliance to the skin until the Skin Tite® is cured. This should occur in approximately 5 minutes or less, dependent on body temperature Once the Skin Tite® is cured, it will remain tacky
- Use a small amount of Skin Tite® to carefully blend the edges of the appliance if needed
- After Skin Tite® is fully cured, makeup can be used to further blend and color the piece, powder may be necessary to remove shine from any skin tite that was used to blend.
- To remove the appliance from the skin, slowly peel the piece away from the skin
- Using baby oil or make-up remover can assist in removal. Isopropyl alcohol works well to remove any uncured silicone glue
Care and Cleaning
The silicone can attract dust and dirt after a while. To extend the life of the prosthetic please follow these instructions:
- The ear tips should be washed with a gentle soap such as dish liquid (I use dawn original scent). Avoid antibacterial soaps or any soaps with aloe.
- If there is glue residue it can be washed off with isopropyl alcohol or makeup remover. It will then need to be washed as described above
- air dry or pat dry (keep in mind some fiber may stick to the silicone)
- if the silicone is shiny they can be powdered before putting away or the next time you use them
- place the ears in the baggie they came in or other container to protect them when not in use.
If you live outside the US you can find a skin-tite distributor at: https://www.smooth-on.com/distributors/