How to Make Viking Beards

Vikings were known in part for their shaggy long beards.

If you are serious about costume parties, you need to know a few inside tricks to creating perfect authentic costumes. If you have the desire to dress a Viking, you will need to have a few basic features in place. You will need a shield, a sword, a helmet with horns and a beard. The beard can be created with a few simple items and will have a big impact on your costume.

Things You'll Need

• Braided wool crepe hair strands
• Iron
• Barber scissors
• Liquid latex or medical adhesive

Instructions

1. Choose a color of wool crepe hair to use and buy several strands of it a costume shop or fabric store. Think about famous Vikings such as Erik the Red and choose your color accordingly.

2. Pull the braided wool crepe wool hair strands apart to create long, flat pieces.

3. Iron the resulting pieces down with a hot iron to totally flatten them and make them easier to work with.

4. Cut the hair to your desired length and place it on your face to get an idea of what shape that you want it to have on your face. Note that Vikings were known for their shaggy, rough appearance.

5. Trim the hair along the contours of your face with barber scissors.

6. Secure the hair to your face with liquid latex. If you will be wearing your costume in high heat situations like under hot stage lights, use medical adhesive to adhere the beard to your face.

7. Use the same procedure to create a matching mustache.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not use liquid latex if you are allergic to latex products. Test by applying a small amount on your skin to see if a reaction develops.

References

• Jokesters: How to: Crepe Hair

Resources

• Missgien: Famous Vikings