So what’s it going to be this year: an apocalyptic zombie, bombed-out soldier, crash victim, or witch who was burned at the stake? Whatever your choice for a grisly Halloween costume is, a realistic looking scar or burn wound will turn heads and be the talk of the party. The burnt skin effect can be relatively tame for, say, a kid’s costume, or it can be super gory for an adult costume.
The first step to apply a faux effect to your skin is to clean the affected area thoroughly with alcohol. For a good looking burn without the gore, simply use some costume makeup and pastels to create a burnt patch of skin. Shade with dark blue and black to mimic bruising and dying skin. Add some red and yellow around the edges to look like swelling and infection. Remember to use the natural contours of the “victim’s” body to help highlight and shade for effect.
To step up the realism and shock factor, you are going to want to add some texture and some blood and fluids to your burn. Mix up some unflavored gelatin, and when it begins to set, layer it onto the burn site with a sponge. Continue to build up layers to give a puckered effect. Then keep dabbing on liquid latex with a brush to create ridges and peeled back flesh. Do not apply liquid latex directly to hair, as it will not wash out. Add some strands of cotton from a cotton ball and mix it into the latex for finer details of peeling, torn skin. To add the look of rotting flesh to your Halloween costume, press some raw oatmeal into the latex and let it dry completely.
Cover the burn with foundation makeup and cream liners to indicate raw, bruised and infected tissue, again using maroon, blue, black and yellow. Be sure to blend out any hard lines created with the makeup. Now you are ready for the blood. Use stage blood that is a little thick and dark red to increase the realism, and work the blood down into all the little crevices of the burn. Cover the whole mess with a thin coat of vegetable oil to help it ooze.
Practice your burnt flesh before the big event. It’s cheap and relatively quick to apply the effect, so make time to perfect the gore. For even more ideas for Halloween costumes, check out our costume ideas section for a ton of useful suggestions and tips.
