A bald cap is a

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

-like

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

simulating the appearance of a

bald Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarrin ...

or partially bald head. As part of an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

's make-up, it is often used to make a person appear older.Delamar, p. 239. Bald caps are a versatile medium. They form the basis of many creative fantasy make-ups.Conway, p. 219. Bald caps may be purchased ready-made or be constructed on-site by a

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...

, who applies several layers of liquid plastic (such as

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

) to a pattern made by covering the actor's head in

clingfilm Plastic wrap, cling film, Saran wrap, cling wrap, Glad wrap or food wrap is a thin plastic film typically used for sealing food items in containers to keep them fresh over a longer period of time. Plastic wrap, typically sold on rolls in boxe ...

. The finished cap is glued to the actor's head with

spirit gum Spirit gum is an adhesive, made mostly of SD Alcohol 35-A (the solvent, or "spirit") and resin (the adhesive, or "gum") originally consisting of mastix, used primarily for affixing costume prosthetics such as wigs, merkins, or false facial hair ...

surgical adhesive A surgical suture, also known as a stitch or stitches, is a medical device used to hold body tissues together and approximate wound edges after an injury or surgery. Application generally involves using a needle with an attached length of threa ...

, and the edges of the cap are blended with the actor's skin using make-up techniques.Delamar, p. 245. Almost any colour medium can be applied to the bald cap to give it colour and texture for creating a bald look, to blending in with skin tones.Conway, p. 219. Bald caps used in the theatre are made of thicker rubber, intended to be put on and off rapidly and multiple times. Coarser and more unrealistic bald caps are sometimes also used as part of a

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

costume. They may also be made of plastic.Conway, p. 223 Bald caps may also be used for occasions when an actor who has hair wishes to act as if they are wearing a wig to cover up their baldness. In this case, the actor will wear a bald cap with a wig on top; the wig can be removed to reveal the "baldness" beneath. This trick received notable use in the "

Earthanasia "Earthanasia" is an episode of the British comedy television series ''The Goodies''. It was written by The Goodies, with songs and music by Bill Oddie. This episode is also known as "''The End of the World Show''" and "''The End of the World''". ...

" episode of the British comedy program, ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comed ...

''.

References

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Footnotes

Wigs {{stagecraft-stub