Pinhead

You can create a great pinhead costume in just a few easy steps.  All you need is liquid latex, small paneling nails, white face paint, black eyeliner and baby powder.  First, put the bald cap on, making sure to have all your hair covered.  If you have trouble getting your hair into the bald cap, try wrapping your head in plastic wrap prior to putting on the bald cap.  Next, apply several layers of liquid latex to your face and head.  This requires some time as you need to make sure you cover your entire face and head and let each layer dry before applying the next layer.  If it's not allowed to dry, it will get clumpy and ruin the effect.  We used 5 layers for the costume in the photo.  After the latex has been applied and allowed to dry, apply the white face paint over the entire area.  Next, apply the baby powder over the face paint.  This help keep the paint on longer and less likely to smear.  After getting the desired 'whiteness', take the black eyeliner and draw the grid lines.  This requires drawing continuous vertical lines from front to back followed by horizontal lines front to back.  The last step can be achieved in different ways.  You can grind the points off the nails and then push the grinded end into the latex where the grid lines cross until they are locked into place.  Continue this process where all the grid lines cross.  In the photo, I opted to take the head of the nail and push it into the latex where the grid lines cross so that the pointy ends were facing out.  This eliminated the need to grind the nails.  You can also use any size nail you choose, but you'll find that larger nails are heavier and will sag rather than stand out.  The subject in the photo was young and because the process was long and tedious, we opted not to cover the entire head with the nails and cover it with a hood.  This was a personal choice and you can add details, clothing, etc. as desired.