Product Tips, Tricks, and Hints

This section is intended to provide some useful information regarding how you may use some of the items we sell. Some are tips for general categories, such as personalized mask fitting, whereas others are for specific items. Those for specific items will link to that item for quick reference. If you have used any of our products, and have any tips, tricks, or hints on ways to use the item and would like to share them with your fellow Halloween lovers, please email them to us at Carnge@CarnageComplex.com and we will add them to our site (and credit you with the idea or keep you anonymous: however you prefer).

Masks

First let's go over custom fitting your mask. A quality latex mask can be resized to fit your head both if the mask is too big, and if the mask is too small. Most masks are made to fit the average individual without any modification (kind of like a 'one size fits most' situation). Please note that a very high quality mask will be made to fit rather tight. Masks look the most realistic when your face fits very snugly into the face of the mask. This means it may be difficult to get on or off, but as long as you can do it safely and the mask fits snugly, it shouldn't need to be resized. You should consider resizing your mask if the neck of the mask is so small that you cannot even get the mask onto your head. Also, if the mask fits easily onto your head, but your face is far away from the face of the mask (your eyes and nose don't line up into the mask) you should also consider resizing the mask.

If the mask is too large (fits easily over your head but your face is far away from the face of the mask) you can glue or tape pieces of foam rubber or other padding into the top or back of the inside of the mask. When these padding pieces are attaches to the top of the mask inside, it will move your face further toward the neck of the mask. If the pieces are on the back of the inside of the mask your face will move farther into the face of the mask, creating a more snug fit to your face. Start with smaller pieces and add more as you need to create the snug fit you desire from your new mask.

If the mask is too small (the neck of the mask will not fit over your head) the neck opening can be enlarged. However, with this technique there is always a chance that you may damage the mask if you are not very careful. First look at the back of the neck of your mask. There may (or there may not) be a small slit up the back of the neck of the mask. If there is one and it still doesn't fit, it means this slit is too small. If there is not one, then there needs to be one. Here is how you can create or enlarge this slit to make the neck of the mask larger. First, use a pair of sharp scissors to cut up the back of the neck of the mask (or make the existing slit longer). Don't do more than an inch or two at a time, as you want the mask to be snug in the end. Once you have made this cut, you need to use a single hole punch to punch a hole through the latex up where the slit ends. Latex can tear if there is already a start (such as the unfinished slit you just made), so until you punch a hole there to stop the slit, your mask can tear. ALWAYS PUNCH THIS HOLE BEFORE TRYING ON THE MASK. Stretching the mask if you have not stopped the slit with a hole punch will cause the mask to tear severely.

Oils and UV light can damage your latex mask. After each use you should wash the inside of the mask with a damp sponge or cloth with a very mild detergent. This will remove the natural oils from your skin that otherwise will eventually damage the latex. Your new mask should be stored in a cool, dry place away from sunlight. To help keep the shape of the mask you can stuff it during storage. A plain crumpled paper or fiber batting is recommended for stuffing. Newsprint paper can leave behind ink on the inside of your mask and then on your face when you next wear the mask, so it is not recommended. The hair on your mask may be combed very carefully with a large toothed comb, but some hairs will be removed each time, so limit the brushing, and do it very lightly.

Rubber Fish

This tip applies to item GLILF-0167

This new version of the rubber fish, although now stuffed, can still be altered to make the fish compressible for production from a small area. The way to do this is to simply remove the stuffing from the fish. It is stuffed with a polyester fiber fill material, so removal is very easy. You can take your pick of areas of the fish to cut in order to remove the stuffing, but personally we have found the most inconspicuous place to be the inside of the mouth of the fish. You can cut as much of the inside of the mouth of the fish out as you want, as a real fish would not have a flap of material closing off their open mouth anyways!