Casting a whole face

When taking an impression of a whole face it is important to first protect the clothing and hair. I covered the clothes with a garbage bag and covered the hair with clingwrap stuck to the forehead with Prosaide. A bald cap would be another option but is more expensive and fiddly to apply and as this was our first attempt we were unfussed about using one. Cover the face with some moisturiser cream paying close attention to any areas with hair such as the eyebrows and eyelashes.




I used an 8 minute setting time alginate to give me more time to apply the alginate as I was working alone. I mixed it to a thick consistency (1:2.5/3 ratio with water) so that it would not run down the face too much. It is important to take the impression whilst the model is upright as if they are lying down the facial features will be distorted. Work quickly applying to the forehead and around the sides of the face before moving on to the eyes, nose and mouth. Pay attention around the eyes to make sure there are no air pockets that will prevent you getting a good impression. Be careful when applying alginate over the nose that you leave the nostrils free so the model can breath. Before covering the mouth get the model to take a breath in and exhale through the nostrils to remove any alginate that may be blocking them. Once the alginate is on cover it with some gauze that the plaster can adhere to.



Give the alginate some time to set (6-8 mins) then start applying plaster bandages over the top first dipping them in water then removing the excess water before applying. Cut the plaster into usable sizes for different areas of the face. Leave the plaster to set for approximately 20 mins. Make sure to stay with your model and keep talking to them so that they feel comfortable as they are unable to talk/communicate other then a yes/no answer during this process.



Carefully remove the alginate/plaster from your model. It is a good idea to get them to help with this process as they can feel how easily or not it is separating from their face. Once it is off it is neccessary to plug the nostrils with extra alginate so that the stone plaster will not leak through. Also clean up the alginate, patching any holes that may have occured and removing any extra bits careful not to remove too much detail from the impression. The negative alginate impression can appear to look like a positive when viewed in certain light.



Pour the stone mix soon after as the alginate will dry out and lose its detail. We used Ultracal which has a 30 minute set time. Once it is set remove the alginate/plaster mix to reveal the stone positive of the face. Next step is to clean up the nostrils and other areas with a Dremel which has not been done here.