Our fantastic paste-on horns are made from Ultralight polymer clay, and each one weighs no more than 10 grams (most are closer to 6 grams). That means that you can wear them all day, and as long as you’ve gotten the paste right, you won’t even notice they’re there. The first time we did a wear-test with the prototypes and our preferred prosthetic glue, DG forgot they were on at all and accidentally wore them into the shower – and they stayed on! That’s mostly due to the glue, but a heavier prosthetic would have come off in the hot water, too. What else weighs 10 grams? How about two 8mm screw bolts? A handful of gummi bears? Two nickels?
Each horn has a concave base so as to fit onto your forehead more effectively. You can use a bit of sandpaper or (very carefully!) an X-acto knife to trim the edges or inside to fit better, but once you’ve done this, there are no returns, even if you mess up the paint job. We highly recommend wearing them with Pros-Aide Cream Adhesive, regardless of which model (with or without coroneum). To use it most efficiently, put a nice coat on the inset of the horn and then place them on on your skin in the desired location. Immediately take them off and touch up the place on your skin with a thin-ish layer, and make sure the glue is even inside the horn’s inset.
WAIT FOR THE GLUE TO BECOME CLEAR. Yes, we know, waiting sucks, but it’s worth it. Press the horn firmly into position, and after you get used to the tiny bit of weight, you’ll forget they’re there.
If you tend to have a problem with excessive facial sweating (we’re looking at you, gentlemen), pre-treat your forehead with an antiperspirant gel or dab-on liquid. Let this part dry completely before adhering your horns.
For Horns with a Coroneum
What the heck is a coroneum, you ask? It’s what we’re calling that thick ridge around the base of a horn where it joins the skin. (There’s apparently no official word for it as it varies in composition from animal to animal, so we’re going with “coroneum” as a vague derivative of “crown”.) Some of our horns come with a coroneum to help you with a more realistic presentation. These have been painted with a layer of latex around the base to keep the polymer uncolored. The latex is removed during the final polish phase.
You will need to supply the foundation (or concealer, or paint) to match your skin tone (or the skin tone of your costume, we’re not picky). You’ll also want to either use a little extra Pros-Aide or some liquid latex to span the seam between the coroneum and your skin. Do this before you apply your makeup. If you get a little makeup on your horns, no big deal: they’ve been sealed with a clear-coat and you should be able to clean them up with a little dab of soap and water.
Taking the Horns Off
This is the hard part because when we say that Pros-Aide is the best stuff ever for keeping your horns on (or any other prosthetic), we’re really not kidding. If you’re really brave (and/or love weirdly placed pain), grab the horn firmly and pull down. NO, NOT REALLY! WE’RE KIDDING!! … that’s okay, skin grows back…
We recommend two products for getting the horns off with minimal fuss. The first is Pros-Aide remover. Since they’re the makers of Pros-Aide, they really should know what they’re talking about, right? We found that it works great on the skin, but getting glue out of your hair was a bit more touch-and-go. And, yes, chances are, if you’re wearing your horns high and you have hair, this will be a serious consideration. Don’t let it stop you, though. If you’re not patient enough for the Pros-Aide (we determined that letting it soak and going slow was effective), or you just want to hedge your bets, keep some Rosehip Oil on hand. Frankly, other oils might be just as effective, but rosehip was what we had on hand during our experimental/developmental phase, and it was freakin’ amazing. It cleans glue out of hair better than peanut butter and bubblegum. (And it’s supposed to be super-awesome for your skin in general.)
We get it, time isn’t always on your side and you might end up having to get aggressive. That’s the price of cosplay sometimes (it happens with soft prosthetics, too). For your ouchies stemming from costuming and pretty much anything else, keep a tin of Res-Q ointment, always. It’s good for burns, scrapes, bruises, cuts, and even broken bones.
Why is there a little hole in the bottom of my horn?
The poop has to come out somewhere.
Just like opinions, every horn has one.
We really don’t like leaving our fingerprints all over your horns for later screening in an FBI database, so we use dowels to hold them for painting and spray-coating.
Um, these horns don’t match perfectly…?
You’re right, they don’t. Real horns in nature don’t match, either. But, in this case, each horn is made by hand, and while we work really hard to make sure they weigh about the same and have the same shape, all kinds of crazy things happen during the manufacturing process. These aren’t done with molds, they’re hand-rolled before being baked and then hand-painted. Variations occur.
These make the horns unique and special to you. There will never be another pair exactly like yours, even if they have roughly the same features and dimensions. They’re pretty close, though, enough to pass as natural (not counting the shininess and weird colors).
These are great, but I want specific colors.
That’s awesome! We totally take custom orders. There is a deposit for them, though, and they can take up to a week to get to you, depending on where you are.
Do I absolutely have to glue them on?
Nah, this stuff is pliable enough that you can easily attach them to a headband, but we do recommend adding a little glue to the base, just to be on the safe side.