# How can i make myself look elderly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926 "2004-04-14T05:34:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jarrod87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Jarrod87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jarrod87)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/1 "2004-04-14T05:34:02Z")
Simple Q : What kind of make up can i buy to use to make myself look elderly? I know they sometimes use latex for faces and stuff. How much would i be spending? Where can i get this sorta stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/2 "2004-04-14T05:37:19Z")
> [@Jarrod87](#): > > Simple Q : What kind of make up can i buy to use to make myself look elderly? > I know they sometimes use latex for faces and stuff. > > How much would i be spending? > Where can i get this sorta stuff? I did it for free. And all it took was time. Tris ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/3 "2004-04-14T06:08:31Z")
Egg white allowed to dry on the skin makes it look wrinkled. Clear tape in a “V” on the outsides of the neck make a “wattle”. ---
**Author:** ![R-Con](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/858c86/32.png) [@R-Con](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R-Con)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/4 "2004-04-14T06:28:42Z")
Pull your pants up to your armpits. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/5 "2004-04-14T06:58:12Z")
I don’t know anything about makeup but it won’t work if you don’t move properly. When you move, mover gingerly because old people don’t want to fall; sort of be a little stooped; and shuffle. ---
**Author:** ![SoulSearching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@SoulSearching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulSearching)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/6 "2004-04-14T07:07:37Z")
Go to bed at 10pm and wakeup at 6am and yell at me every time I drive by your house going 20mph in a 15mph zone. ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/7 "2004-04-14T12:17:52Z")
Grow a beard and bleach it white. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/8 "2004-04-14T12:19:13Z")
How often, for how long, and under what conditions? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/9 "2004-04-14T12:38:42Z")
This is nowhere near as sophisticated as using latex, but baby powder in the hair makes it look gray. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/10 "2004-04-14T13:33:36Z")
I have experience using theatrical techniques to make people look older. You can buy a kit from a theatre supply store (I would look online or in your Yellow Pages). Look for a place that sells stage makeup kits. Ageing is one of the most common techniques and basic makeup to achieve this should come in most any starter kit. Ben Nye makeup is a common brand used on stage that sells kits. I have a starter one left from my theatre days that also came with liquid latex and stuff to gray your hair. (Bonus - you can also get stage blood and makeup for stage injuries in the kit - fun on Holloween!) Latex is sometimes used for more extreme aging but you can achieve some aging simply with basic highlight and shadow. It can be a little tricky to get the look right, there are books that show you how step-by-step, with pictures that would be helpful. The basic idea is you want to create fine lines be making creases look deeper. You do this by shadowing in the creases and highlighting parts that would be raised. Try to find places that would naturally wrinkle on your face by scrunching your face up to find crow’s feet and worry lines and such. You can make eyes look sunken, cheeks droopy, bags under eyes, etc. The makeup looks best under stage lighting though, up close it can look fake. It is easy to get it wrong though too - go to a few high school productions or community theatres and it’s easy to find horribly applied stage makeup. Latex can look more natural up close but it also takes practice to get right. It is fun to experiment with and you can freak people out by peeling your ‘skin’ off later. Local theatres will sometimes have stage makeup classes you might be able to join as well, or get someone involved in local theatre to help you. Most community theatres and college theatres don’t employ their own makeup people so actors have to learn how to do it on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/11 "2004-04-14T13:39:49Z")
[Here is the kit I have](http://www.costumesgalore.com/costumesgalore/acces.cfm). It is the first one on the page. You can also get instructional videos here. ---
**Author:** ![nuthinboutnuthin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/96bed5/32.png) [@nuthinboutnuthin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nuthinboutnuthin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-myself-look-elderly/239926/12 "2004-04-15T05:50:53Z")
WHY do you want to know how to make yourself look old???