5 o'clock shadow

Question

I need to know if stage make-up can create a realistic and tactile five o'clock shadow. My nephew has just become fond of coming up to me and planting his face right up against mine, side by side, his cheek right up against my jawline, and then rubbing against my stubble like it's a cat's tongue. This has given me ideas for a Clark Kent secret identity, but it only works if the stubble can be an on-again, off- again, tactile thing.
It will not work if we're talking that smudge that Mia Maestro uses on Crusoe. Let us assume, for the sake of reasoning, that the character does have Hollywood's resources at his disposal. Can it be done much faster than it would take to actually grow the stubble?

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I need to know if stage make-up can create a realistic and tactile five o'clock shadow. My nephew has just ... Hollywood's resources at his disposal. Can it be done much faster than it would take to actually grow the stubble?[/nq]
Absolutely, though the result is a little less than perfect. Look for Richard Corson's definative text, Stage Makeup, for specifics, but the short version is, you lay down a bed of spirit gum (an adhesive for makeup and hairpieces) and then used a wad of short-chopped crepe hair to tamp over the gum. The short pieces of hair (really wool) will stick and give the impression of stubble.
Spirit gum has a noticeable odor and is usually shiny, and always a bit stiff on the skin. The short pieces of crepe don't always stick up; they often end up going in odd directions, and they're rarely as short as you really want them to be. You can use yak hair (no, really - it's common for theatrical hair goods) but it's more expensive and difficult to work with, making the final results more hit-or-miss.

In the kind of application you're suggesting, you're likely looking for an effect that could be applied quickly, in the sense that we see Superman, clean-shaven, and then see Clark Kent moments later and assume they're not the same guy, 'cause Clark needs a shave. If someone's looking, then they're likely to be looking closely (close enough to feel it, if I'm understanding you correctly) and that means they're going to be looking at the stubble to see if it's fake.

The other option would be a hair-lace appliance, like a fake beard, but cut very short so it's just down to stubble. Trouble with that is the lace itself is going to be visible up close, and the individual hairs are going to look odd because they will each have a knot at the base (the hair is 'worked' like hooked rug) and the finished piece still has to applied with spirit gum.
A third, really extreme possibility, would be to create a rubber mask of sorts, to cover just the area of the beard stubble. Most likely silicone, actually, through which the individual hairs could be punched and then cut short. The finished piece would be applied in much the same way as a hair-lace piece but it would look (and possibly feel) more natural. The downside would be the need to bland off the rubber to the skin, with make-up, which is going to show up-close.

WAY more than you ever wanted to know, I know.
Probably an easier way to go is with an actual beard, moustach, and/or sideburns - hair-lace appliances that can be applied quickly and that will look very convincing, even up close in natural light. You'd be surprised at how dramatically a person's look can be changed with just a little facial hair, and since most people don't think of beards, or especially sideburns, as being fake, people aren't likely to look that closely.

Life Continues, Despite
Evidence to the Contrary
Steven

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]WAY more than you ever wanted to know, I know.[/nq]
This is perfect, Steven. The slight smell (although how that figures on the screen will be a challenge) is exactly the sort of detail to throw someone off, especially if it goes away with the beard, or at least a quick scrub.
I can really see this guy as an "I drink your milkshake" kind of guy, an anachronism with the smells of an old-school barber shop, although I probably should avoid reference to the meme.
So we're saying a thicker beard like yours would be more convincing than stubble and an easier con to pull off, although I'd be worried of a Miracle on 34th Street test.
What if the character takes his own five o'clock shadow, and lays some sort of disguising feature to his face? A silicone chin or jaw line? Then his five o'clock can be real five o'clock at the end of the day, and we have a way for the con to fall at the end (since he is playing fate with the disguise).
Perhaps just a fake goatee and chin? I'd love to throw in a merkin joke, but I don't want to be responsible for the words, "Daddy, what's a merkin?"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I need to know if stage make-up can create a realistic and tactile five o'clock shadow. My nephew has just ... Hollywood's resources at his disposal. Can it be done much faster than it would take to actually grow the stubble?[/nq]
In the early Superman comics Clark's disguise were his glasses which washed out his vivid blue eyes and changing his posture to shamble more as Clark than stride as Supes. You can't give Clark/Supes a 5 o'clock shadow.
p.s. I thot you were thai or fillipino. except for chin-waggers, I didn't think stubble would be a problem.

The Peripatetic Samurai Robot

Usenet · Answer

One very clever thing in The Usual Suspects is how Kevin Spacey altered his demeanor and posture and tone of voice to seem like a meek, hunched, harmless, handicapped guy, when in fact he was the Big Bad Guy the cops were seeking - as he limps away, the farther he gets from the cops, the better he gets along, and soon the guy is running down the street - gone. A really good disguise, but you can't use it on people who know you, prolly.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]p.s. I thot you were thai or fillipino. except for chin-waggers, I didn't think stubble would be a problem.[/nq]
I'm not your average Chinese-Filipino, with a half Thai nationality. For starters, I'm in Detroit.

5 o'clock shadow

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