Silicones for masks, prosthetics and special effectsThis category has everything you need to make an SFX mask, prosthetic, wound or skin replica: the silicones for the piece itself, the silicones for the mould and the positive, and the additives to tune hardness, speed and handling. The layout below follows the...
Silicone for Masks and SFX (32)
Silicones for masks, prosthetics and special effects
This category has everything you need to make an SFX mask, prosthetic, wound or skin replica: the silicones for the piece itself, the silicones for the mould and the positive, and the additives to tune hardness, speed and handling. The layout below follows the step in your project, not the brand.
Will your piece be in contact with skin?
This is an application category. It does not state which products are skin-friendly or biocompatible, because that differs per product and per type of contact. Which documentation exists for each product, what it covers and what it does not, is set out in the category Skin-friendly & Biocompatible Silicones. Background on the terms: USP Class VI, ISO 10993 and food contact, what these terms do and do not mean.
1. For the piece itself: appliances, masks and prosthetics
Soft platinum silicones for casting or building up the appliance, mask or prosthetic.
Zhermack SFX range
- ✓ Zhermack ZA SFX 0020, Shore 00-20, translucent, 1:1 by weight. Gel-like soft, for appliances and skin replication.
- ✓ Zhermack ZA SFX 10 WT 10, Shore A 10, translucent, 1:1 by weight. Firmer, holds its shape better and cures faster.
- ✓ Zhermack SFX 00-30, Shore 00-30, ultra-soft, for masks, animatronics and robotics.
Zhermack has had ZA SFX 0020 and ZA SFX 10 WT 10 assessed according to ISO 10993-1. Scope and details are in the biocompatible category and on the product page. SFX 00-30 is not covered; no statement on skin contact is available for this product.
CHT True Skin
- ✓ CHT True Skin 20, soft and flexible, for thin skin layers and facial prosthetics.
- ✓ CHT True Skin 30, slightly firmer, for masks and prosthetics that need to hold their shape.
Which tests CHT has had carried out on True Skin is described in the biocompatible category. We send the reports on request.
Polytek PlatSil Gel
- ✓ PlatSil Gel-OO, the softest in the range, for ultra-realistic skin effects.
- ✓ PlatSil Gel-0020, ultra-soft with a little more body, for thin prosthetics.
- ✓ PlatSil Gel-0030, slightly firmer, for moulage and detailed prosthetics.
- ✓ PlatSil Gel-10, Shore A 10, for prosthetics, life casting and moulds.
- ✓ PlatSil Gel-25, Shore A 25, the firmest in the range.
In its technical bulletin Certified Skin Safe PlatSil Silicones, Polytek declares this range skin safe. The products were independently evaluated under the US FHSA, LHAMA, ASTM D4236 and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, concluding that they will not pose acute or chronic adverse health effects when accurately measured, thoroughly mixed and fully cured. Polytek lists medical modelling and simulation, and theatrical prosthetic appliances and make-up FX as applications. Additives such as pigments have not been tested and fall outside the statement. The bulletin is available with the products. How this evaluation relates to ISO 10993 is explained in the biocompatible category.
Wacker Elastosil FX
- ✓ Elastosil FX 10, very soft 1:1 silicone for masks and thin skin layers.
- ✓ Elastosil FX 20, slightly firmer, for prosthetics and stable parts.
- ✓ Elastosil FX 28, the hardest in the range, for structural prosthetics.
- ✓ Elastosil FX Gel 30, Shore 00-30, elongation at break over 900 %. The softest casting grade in the FX range.
Wacker issues a statement on skin contact for the FX range, subject to the Wacker Silicones Health Care Policy (see below). How that statement is built up is explained in the biocompatible category.
SAM own brand
- ✓ Silicone Soft Flex 00-35, very soft pourable silicone for soft parts and fillings.
- ✓ SAM Silicone Wound, spreadable silicone for sculpting wounds and skin effects.
Please note: no skin statement or biocompatibility report is available for these own-brand products. We therefore make no claim about skin contact.
2. For the mould, the positive and the life cast
Silicones for making the mould an appliance is cast in, or for taking a life cast or making a positive. Apart from SkinForm, no manufacturer statement on skin contact is available for these products.
- ✓ Elastosil Vario 15 Normal and Vario 15 Fast, translucent, Shore A 15. You can see through the mould, useful for encapsulating and injecting.
- ✓ Elastosil Vario 40 Normal and Vario 40 Fast, transparent, Shore A 40, for firmer moulds.
- ✓ Elastosil Cat. Vario, the curing agent for the entire Vario line.
- ✓ Zhermack SkinForm (ZA 22 Thixo Body), spreadable, thixotropic silicone for body casting and SFX moulds, Shore A 22. In its technical data sheet Zhermack lists “compatibility with skin” and body casting as the application, but without a standard, test institute or contact duration. It is therefore a manufacturer statement for short-term casting on intact skin, not a biocompatibility declaration. More in the biocompatible category.
Vario 15 and 40 belong chemically to the same family as the FX range, but Wacker only issues a statement on skin contact for FX. There is none for Vario: Wacker states conformity for food contact here (BfR XV, FDA 21 CFR 177.2600), which is not a statement on skin safety. If you want to use the same chemistry in a piece worn on the skin, choose the FX range.
3. Additives: softer, faster, thicker, lighter
Additives for Wacker FX
- ✓ Elastosil FX Fast, speeds up curing.
- ✓ Elastosil FX Thixo, makes the silicone spreadable for brush-on work.
- ✓ Elastosil FX Softener, lowers the final hardness. It is a reactive component with an upper limit: add too much and the material no longer cures properly and more extractable fraction remains. Stay within Wacker's dosage.
Softening
- ✓ SAM Deadener 1000, makes platinum silicones softer and increases elongation. The more you add, the more unbound material remains in the piece. Always make test pieces. No skin statement available.
Silicone foam
Lightweight silicones for large prosthetic parts, costume parts and soft fillings.
- ✓ Closed Cell 2, very soft, fine cell structure.
- ✓ Closed Cell 3, slightly firmer, versatile.
- ✓ Closed Cell 5, firmer foam for structural parts.
- ✓ Open Cell 6, open cell structure.
Own-brand products, no skin statement available.
Silicone oil: choose pharmaceutical grade
If you use silicone oil as a thinner in your silicone, or the oil comes into contact with skin in any other way, choose dimethicone in pharmaceutical and cosmetic grade, not the technical silicone oil for moulds and lubrication.
- ✓ Dimethicone PDMS 350 cSt EP, pharmaceutical grade according to the European Pharmacopoeia.
- ✓ Dimethicone PDMS 1000 cSt, extra pure PDMS for pharma and cosmetics.
Silicone oil added to a silicone is not built into the network and can bleed out later. Keep the amount as low as possible.
⚠️ Wacker Silicones Health Care Policy, read this before choosing Wacker
Wacker's skin statements expressly apply only if the end application falls within the WACKER SILICONES HEALTH CARE POLICY. That policy excludes some applications or handles them case by case:
- ✓ Contact with genital mucous membranes is generally not permitted. Because silicone elastomers can contain considerable amounts of silicone oil, you must verify the conformity of the chosen Wacker product for that application with Wacker.
- ✓ Long-term applications of more than 30 days, single or repeated, are generally excluded, with a case-by-case decision.
- ✓ Contraceptive and reproductive devices are assessed case by case.
- ✓ Breast implants and direct injection of silicone oil into tissue or blood are not permitted.
- ✓ The customer must inform Wacker of such an intended application before purchase.
If you are working on a product with mucous membrane contact or prolonged body contact, please contact us. We will put the application to Wacker, or recommend a brand to which this restriction does not apply. For mucous membrane contact up to 24 hours, Zhermack ZA SFX 0020 or ZA SFX 10 WT 10 is often the better-documented alternative.
Processing correctly
- ✓ Mix exactly by weight and stir slowly into the corners of the cup.
- ✓ Let it cure fully according to the TDS before using the piece.
- ✓ Prevent cure inhibition from sulphur-containing clay, latex gloves, PVC and many SLA 3D prints. See Cure inhibition of silicones and SLA 3D prints and platinum silicones.
- ✓ Choose the right softness with Shore hardness explained.
⚠️ Responsibility for the end product
A manufacturer's statement or test report applies to the raw material, not to the product you make from it. Pigment, deadener, softener, oil, release agent, mix ratio and cure all affect the result. Assessing the end product is the responsibility of whoever makes it. More on this in the category Skin-friendly & Biocompatible Silicones.
Not sure which material suits your project?
Tell us what you are making, how long it stays on the skin and which documentation you need. Contact us at info@siliconesandmore.com.