Here we will try to answer the most common questions our customers have asked us. If you're unable to find the answer your looking for then please feel free to Contact Us directly with your question or comment. We will gladly respond as soon as we possibly can.
- Do I have to sign up to place an order?
Not necessarily. You may place your order by sending us a direct e-mail request, this is useful mostly for custom orders. However for regular order for items available in our store, by signing up for the shopping cart you help us have a quick way to manage and fill your order and contact you if needed. It also helps us avoid wrong addresses or misspelled names. It also allows you to leave feedback and reviews on our products. Direct e-mails are best used for custom orders, though if you have any comments or questions you can always contact us at any time. We will gladly respond as quickly as possible. - How can I get a shipping cost estimate?
From your shopping cart there is a button labeled 'Estimate Shipping'. By using this button, you can enter your location, and your shipping options will be presented. You do NOT need to sign up with us to obtain shipping estimates.
NOTE: Rarely, Canada Post's servers may be down for short periods for maintenance. During this time you may not be able to use the shipping estimator. Though this is rare, in this event please e-mail us for a shipping quote, or you may try again in an hour or so. - What methods of payment do you accept?
We can accept many forms of payment. We accept Cash, Credit Cards through Square, C.O.D.'s and Interac E-mail Money Transfers. We can also offer Payment Plans and can use PayPal by request. Visit our Payment Information for specific details. - Do you offer discounts?
Yes we do! See our Discount Information for more details. - What is your refund policy?
We can accept certain returns and issue refunds and do exchanges. For specifics, visit out Shipping & Returns page. - What are 'Prosthetics' or 'Latex Appliances'?
Prosthetics, or latex appliances, are pieces made of slip/slush cast latex, hot foam latex or cold foam latex that are usually adhered to your face with an adhesive, and blended in to your skin with makeup to seamlessly appear as one piece. They are the professional standard for Television / Movies and the Theatrical industry to create fantastical characters. - What are the differences between 'Hot Foam', 'Cold Foam', 'Slush/Slip' cast latex?
Slush or slip cast latex
This is liquid latex that is poured into our molds and through a build-up of layers create the prosthetics or masks. The result is a hollow latex shell. In the case of prosthetics, they have somewhat thin edges, while masks will have thicker edges. These hollow shells are glued to your face only around the edges. They are best suited for use for background characters, or anyone with few lines.
They are tough and durable, lasting a dozen or more applications and usually don’t need a remover since they can be peeled off like band-aids. They are somewhat flexible and will move with the mouth and have some expressions, but they aren’t as flexible or as expressive as hot foam latex. Since they are hollow, if they’re improperly applied, they can muffle the voice and make it sound nasal due to echoing. Condensation can also form inside of these pieces which can cause adhesive to detach, usually around the mouth area.
Hot foam latex
This is a latex that is whipped up into a foam, poured into our molds, assembled with a face core and then placed in an oven to bake for several hours. The result is a soft spongy filled foam piece. They have the thinnest edges of all types of latex and can be glued down completely to your face since it comes into more contact with more surface area than just the edges. These are best suited for main characters or for anyone with a lot of signing and lines. Since they are filled, there will be no problems with echoing nor condensation.
Foam latex is extremely flexible and expressive and will give the liveliest performance. However, foam latex is more fragile and can tear, so it requires a remover to remove the pieces. The edges are particularly fragile and subsequent applications of foam latex prosthetics may need cabo-patch to help blend torn edges. These pieces usually have a lifespan of about 3-5 applications, more if you're cautious. They will also absorb sweat and gain a build-up of used adhesive over time which contributes to their wearing out.
Cold foam latex
This is an expanding polyurethane foam (A-B Foam) that is sandwiched between slush cast latex layers. The result is a filled foam piece with thick edges. This type of material is best suited for mask making, prop ears, horns and anything that needs to be static as it’s the least flexible of all materials we use. It’s the best basis for making costume heads that are furred since it can be flexible, yet solid enough to hold its shape. It’s also durable with the slush/slip cast latex skin, masks made with cold foam could last for 5 years or more. It’s not suitable for being glued on like a prosthetic, which will make the piece wear out quickly by pulling latex skin away from the foam. - Can I eat or drink while wearing the prosthetics?
Yes!
Eating and drinking is not a problem. It's a matter of what you eat, and how you drink. It's best to eat bite-sized and non-messy foods and to drink from bottles and use straws. - What type of adhesives and removers for prosthetics do you offer?br />We offer Pros-Aide Adhesive and Liquid Latex. We also offer Bond-Off Remover.
Note: All liquid adhesives are available on our site only during warmer months of the year, and is subject to climate conditions in your area to prevent freezing. If Pros-Aid, Liquid Latex, Pax Paint or Cabopatch freeze, they will be ruined. - The prosthetic I want isn’t in stock. How long does it take to make it?
We make most prosthetics to order. We keep a limited inventory of the more popular noses and muzzles in hot foam latex. We rarely have inventory of slush cast late pieces.
Slush / Slip cast latex prosthetics take 1-2 days to dry in their molds per copy.
Hot foam latex prosthetics take about 1 day to make a copy and a day to dry it after washing, with a maximum of 2 copies made per day of any single piece.
Cold foam latex pieces take about 1 day to make as well with a maximum of 2 copies per day of any single piece. If you have an order for multiple copies of a single item, please be aware it’ll take more time to make more copies of the single piece. Contact us if you have specific timeframes when ordering multiple copies of a single piece. Our cart is set up to account for production time. - The teeth on my prosthetic look a little bumpy; what happened?
In certain older pieces with built-in teeth, air bubbles can form in the teeth while making them, where they will only be partiall formed. Usually it’s the only part that won’t turn out and it’s unrealistic to throw away the entire piece over a few small air bubbles in the teeth. We will usually repair the teeth with a build-up of slush cast latex, or sometimes we’ll use cotton with the latex to build it up if there is too much missing of a tooth. This won't affect the performance or the look of your piece once it's been painted.
We've moved away from built-in latex teeth on our newer designs and have been using plastic teeth instead - There's a yellow patch/ hard spot on my prosthetic; what happened?
Sometimes yellow spots on hot foam latex are simply discoloration from release agent in molds. It may have stained the piece, but it will not affect the quality nor performance of the prosthetic. Makeup will cover such flaws.
Sometimes small air bubbles form in our prosthetics. When air bubbles appear in non-crtitical areas of a prosthetic, we usually repair the flaw by patching it with liquid latex and smoothing it over. These patches will not affect the prosthetic's performance or durability and will become invisible once makeup is applied. - What type of makeup do you recommend for use with prosthetics?
Almost any makeup will work with prosthetics. Grease or oil based makeup as well as water based makeup will work well on prosthetics. Even regular cosmetic makeup will work on prosthetics. Brands such as WolfeFX, BenNye, Kryolan, Mehron, to name a few, will provide the best quality.
Avoid tubes of 'Halloween' makeup sold in department stores or pharmacies, as they tend to stain and flake off.
Oil based makeup adversely affects latex over a long time. The oil will degrade the latex and weaken it. If you plan to use the same prosthetic for several months or years keep this in mind.
We offer PaxPaint as another paint option, it's a blend of Pros-Aide adhesive and Acrylic Paint. This results in a flexible and very durable paint that will require a lot of scrubbing or remover to take off, so try to use it only for painting latex. - Can you make me a custom ______ prosthetic / mask or other item?
We can make just about anything. Masks, heads, gloves, costumes, prosthetics… there are many possibilities. We prefer avoiding making anything resembling copyrighted characters.
When we get requests for new prosthetic/mask pieces, we can either make it completely custom, semi-custom or generic.
When something is completely custom, it’s where we absolutely must use your face cast and/or what we make absolutely cannot be copied, where you retain the rights to the molds, then we’ll generally charge full price for sculpting and casting of the piece since we won’t ever sell copies of the piece again. Prices depend on the size and detail of the piece.
When something is semi-custom or generic, we only will need to charge a portion for any sculpting or assemble something with our existing pieces. We retain the rights to the molds where we make as many copies as we have orders demanding them.
For example, say you wanted something fairly common, like a fox head mask. It would at that point be fairly generic since we have a fox muzzle, or can sculpt a new one to add to our catalogue. No new major sculpting and casting means no sculpting or casting fees for such a request. The fees in this case would be used to cover the production materials.
But if you wanted something obscure, like a Lemur head mask, or a mask based off of your own copyrighted character that you didn’t want any copies of it circulating, then it would be completely custom as we won’t have sales ever again for that type of head or if you need to retain control and rights over your design. - I like ______ Prosthetic, but I only want a part of it. Can I order that part alone?
Yes, you can. This is quite easy for us to do. However that would require you to contact us to place your order manually. - Why do you make so many animal type prosthetics?
We simply prefer making animals. There aren’t many available and it comes up very often in theater, film, LARPs, Cosplays, Sci-Fi, etc. Zombies and vampires have been done time and time again by many other companies, yet no one has taken the time to make a horse, a frog or even any beaks. As artists, we prefer the fantasy side of costuming over gore and horror. - I am a LARPER, which prosthetics are best?
Any prosthetic with a shorter muzzle will be best since it’s less protruding from your face and will be less likely to be hit by a boffer weapon. The type of material depends on your preference and budget. - I’m putting on a production of _______ and I’m unsure which pieces are best. Can you help?
Contact us, we’ll work with you closely to determine which pieces would be the most suitable for your production and try to work within your budget. - Do you have an application guide?
Yes we do, it is available online here. it outlines the general steps to apply a prosthetic with adhesive and makeup.