Pros Aide? What in the world is Pros Aide?
Whenever I’ve done prosthetics makeup I’ve always used Spirit Gum.
They sell Spirit Gum in those Halloween shops. It’s the only prosthetics adhesive I know.
But Spirit Gum does pose one main problem. It never works for me as a long lasting prosthetic adhesive.
So, I went on a hunt to find out what the best (and more importantly – affordable) adhesive was.
The first thing I learned?
Pros Aide is an industry favorite.
Bottoms up!
I usually do this at the bottom of my posts, but this link deserves to be noted up front.
Much of the information in this post comes from the wonderful Stuart Bray.
There are so few other websites with makeup effects instructions like Bray’s. He explains Pros Aide and other adhesives, as well as how to use and apply them.
So I highly recommend that you read his article on Prosthetics Adhesives and Removers.
Bonus: It was written with Todd Debreceni, author of Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics
Adhesives
To start, here are the two main types of prosthetics glue.
- Water based adhesives (which Pros Aide is):
- High sticking power
- Moves well
- Not very expensive
- Sweat can affect its hold
- Silicone adhesives:
- Extremely strong hold
- Very expensive
Spirit Gum
Spirit Gum is a good starting point for beginners.
Spirit Gum doesn’t stick as long as Pros Aide.
You can remove Spirit Gum with Spirit Gum Remover or rubbing alcohol, which could cause a skin reaction.
Pros Aide, on the other hand, is better for sensitive skin.
Mehron brand Spirit Gum, shown here, only costs around $4 bucks for a 2.5 fl oz. bottle.
Medical adhesives, like the Kryolan Extra Strength Medical Adhesive
And because they are medical grade, the hold is very durable.
Much like Pros Aide, you can only remove it with medical adhesive remover.
But the price tag is high.
Silicone Adhesives
The one shown costs $85 for just 2 oz (at the time of this post)!
It’s safe to say you need a remover for this adhesive.
Some of the brand names for silicone adhesives include:
Telesis 7
Pros Aide
Everything I’ve researched points to Pros Aide being the best professional grade option.
It’s priced right in the middle of expensive and inexpensive. The 4 oz. bottle shown here costs $22.
That’s enough to cover tons of applications, so that one bottle can last someone like me many, many months.
It’s water based, so it’s safe for sensitive skin. And it’s got a very strong hold.
Do you have a favorite adhesive or your own sticky story? Tell us about it in the comments.
I only know this stuff because of these links:
Prosthetic Adhesives for Theatrical Makeup
The Zen of Prosthetic Adhesives and Removers
And these books:
Monstrous Monster Make-Up Manual Book
I want you to know…
…that some of the links here are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.
Now, I only link to products I believe are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. From the bottom of my heart, please don’t spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.
16 Responses
I was just on a set shadowing the sfx team and they had Pros Aide in their kit. NOW I want it. So so much of it! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Ash! As much as I can, I want to use what the pros use. I’m just glad to know that Pros Aide is pretty easy to get and won’t break the bank.
how do you remove pros-aide? 🙂
Hi, Phoebe! Pros Aide remover is the first that comes to mind, but check out this link for a list of other removers that will work.
At Uni we use Ben Nye’s ‘Bond off!’ and Sherman Laboratories ‘Pro-Clean Cleansing Oil’ 🙂
Thanks, Megan! I learned something new!
Hey there, my name is jaylen and im in a little bit of a sticky situation (no pun)… Ok so i want to be maleficent for Halloween, but the problem is the horns that I have are just horns that are not attached to the standard maleficent head piece.. I want to stick them to my hair and have them up in the air but I don’t know how to get them to stick to my hair, should I use one of the adhesives above, or ahould i use hair glue?
Hi Jaylen,
I normally wouldn’t recommend using non-hair glue directly on your hair. (Just thinking about it…ouch!) With any glue application involving hair it usually requires some sort of barrier so you avoid losing whatever hair is underneath. Here’s a link to more on using glue over hair (scroll down to the section on hair).
That said, if you wanted to use non-hair glue, I’d make sure you have the appropriate remover. If you think they may fall off try stuffing the horns with pillow filling. It’s light weight so it won’t weigh them down, and it might give them more structure to stay in place.
Let me know how it goes! Good luck!
I have a rather complicated issue. I am planning to glue gears to my face(wooden or metal, I don’t know yet). Butttt I will have on mehron metallic paint and mehron black all over my face for my steampunk character. So my question is this: with it being a veryyy hot three day event, plus have paint all over me, plus sweating a lottttt… What product can I use that is okay on face paint, won’t wear down with heat and sweat, won’t super damage my skin, and wont take forever to take off (plus at an ok price)?
Hmmmm…I’ve heard good things about Ben Nye Final Seal makeup spray. It may help you keep your makeup from running, and it costs around $15 with shipping. With that, you could pretty much use the glue of your choice, that fits within your budget. Removing it all, well, you’re gonna have to make a choice. You either want it to last, or you want it to come off easily. You can’t have both! 🙂
Check out Ben Nye’s Final Seal here.
I use pros aid every day to attach a prosthetic ear. My ear was amputated due to cancer of the parotid gland. There was a huge hole in my head which was filled with a free flap. So the prosthetic is applied to a flat surface with no ear hole to help hold it on. Pros aid works great. I don’t use anything to remove it. I just rub it into a long strand and lift it off. The removers cause all kinds of skin problems.
Hi, Joseph! I would love to get into the field of creating prosthetics in the medical field. What a rewarding career. Thank you for sharing!
I made horns from polymer clay that are a good size so they’re kind of heavy. Would there be any glue that could hold them to my forehead?
Hi, Michelle. I can’t really recommend any particular glue for polymer clay because I’ve never tried it. BUT, I think you’d fair better if you made your horns out of liquid latex. Just paint several thin coats (5 or more) over your polymer clay horns, letting each coat dry thoroughly (maybe even overnight) before starting a new coat. Once all coats have dried you can remove the polymer clay horns. Remember to powder them as you remove them because latex sticks to itself. Fill the latex horns with batting or fiber fill, something light. Now you have your pick of glues to use! Not only that, but you can make more latex horns using your polymer clay horns. Hope this helps!
Thank You!
Im currently in the process of making my own sillicone prosthetics (yay!) But i see everywhere that people cant seem to glue them on with pros-aide or spirit gum :/ what should i do?