Transforming into Freddy Krueger’s burned and crispy look just takes a bit of Mehron 3-D Gel, fake blood, brown eye shadow and blush. You can watch a video of a quick run through of the make-up tutorial at the end of this post, then refer to this article for the the step-by-step guide.

*Article contains Amazon affiliate links, which don’t cost you anything, but help me get few cents closer to my next cosplay creation. So thank you if you click on them. 🙂

Transforming into Freddy Krueger

I don’t do a lot of gory make-up, but Nightmare on Elm Street was one of my favorite scary movies as a kid, so I grew up with Freddy terrorizing teenagers in their dreams. It was Halloween 2008 when I wanted to be something scary for once, and decided to go with this idea of Freddy possessing someone so they were sort of turning into him, and were only half bloody and yucky. To make the costume, I shredded a Freddy Krueger sweater, got myself a better hat, and added a black contact to the Freddy side.

Supplies Needed to Create the Look:

Mehron 3-D Gel – This look is dependent on this gel effect! It is a gel-based product and will easily wash off later. Plus it doesn’t hurt when you peel it off, like latex sometimes can. Click here to get Mehron 3-D Gel on Amazon.

Dark Squirt Blood – The fake blood I use here is called Squirt Blood by Mehron, and the color is Dark Venous. This particular kind of fake blood can be smeared, dripped, splattered and looks like fresh blood. Be aware that it does stain you a bit! But it washes off easily with soap and water.

Eye Shadow/Blush – I used a contouring palette by Manna Kadar and an eye shadow palette by Lawless. But you can use ANY shadow or blush that has browns and reds.

Foundation – I use a dark foundation over the gel. It’s supposed to already be “flesh tone” but it helps cover up some of the lighter spots and give the whole skin area a darker look. It also helps make the gel less sticky so you can apply the rest of the make-up faster and easier.

Application tools: Chopstick or something similar, blush brush, fingers

Costume: I started with a Secret Wishes Freddy Krueger costume (pictured below), but it fit nothing like the picture on the package! (big surprise) So I altered the dress a bit by cutting it up to make it look like I got in a fight with Freddy and his claws. The hat is cheap, but wearable. The second time I did this costume I got myself a nicer hat. And the claws immediately fell off the glove as soon as I took it out of the package. I used thin wire to reattach the claws and they’ve lasted like that for the last 13 years! The pic on the left is the package and on the right is the first time I did the costume and make-up, in 2008. I wore a white contact that year, but later switched to wearing a black one.

Step-by-Step Freddy Krueger Cosplay Make-up Tutorial

1 – Start with a clean dry face where you plan to put the Mehron 3-D Gel. I happen to have a full face of make-up here because I was taking other pics before I shot the tutorial, but normally I would have a clean face on one side. If you have on make-up or lotion, the gel won’t stick as well.

2 – Prep your gel by putting the bottle in a cup or bowl of hot water for a few minutes. This softens the gel so you can apply it. You want it to be gooey, but not all the way liquid. If it melts all the way, then it gets too runny and doesn’t have the right texture.

3 – Take the cap off the gel and stick the chopstick in the bottle and use it to transfer the gel to your face. Just put it all over where you want it in chunky blobs. I came across the chopstick method by accident, when I first tried this and couldn’t get the gel out of the bottle. I grabbed the first pointy thing I could find, which was a disposable chopstick pack. It worked so well, that I’ve done it this way ever since. Watch the video to see how I apply it with the chopstick.

Make sure you cover your eyebrow thoroughly, and extend the gel to your ear and down the neck a bit. I didn’t do my ear in the video, but usually I make sure that’s covered too. Once the gel is all on, you’ll need to wait a few minutes for it to dry before moving to the next step.

4 – Cover the gel with a dark foundation. The 3-D gel takes a while to dry completely, so I wait a few minutes for it to dry a little and then apply foundation over it while it’s still a bit sticky to the touch. This helps make everything smoother and less sticky, so it’s easier to apply the browns and reds in the next step. The foundation I’m using in the tutorial is Make-Up Forever’s HD Foundation, but anything will work.

5 – Add the browns and reds – I use a black eye shadow around my eyes, then I haphazardly splotch brown and red shadow or blush all over the gel area. Make sure to have some dark and light spots. I usually start with a make-up brush and then use my fingers for the darker spots.

6 – Add the fake blood – The final step is the Mehron Squirt Blood. I like the dark venous color the best. I squirt a bit in my hand and then splotch it on all over, using it to fill in any spots that the other make-up didn’t cover. I also extend it a bit past the gel spots, and then add some extra blood slashes all over.

7 – The optional contact – I like to add a black contact to the one side with the Freddy make-up for an extra creepy effect! My contacts are the Classic Blackout style from MocoQueen Contacts – use code sewgeekmama to save 10% off your order!

Sweet Dreams!

Hope you have a great Halloween, or whatever your Freddy Krueger costuming plans may be! Feel free to ask any questions here or on the YouTube tutorial video. And if you happen to use this tutorial, please tag me so I can see how it turns out! I’m @sewgeekmama (for cosplay) and @geekmamasblog (for blog stuff/mom life) on all platforms.

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About the Author

Candy Keane is a digital content creator and long-time cosplayer, most well-known for being on the cover of the Star Wars documentary Jedi Junkies. After making costumes professionally for over a decade, she now writes about about geek culture and mom life, and continues to cosplay for fun, while sharing her love of costumes on Instagram @SewGeekMama. Her first children’s book, I’m Going to My First Comic Convention, was published in 2020 and won a Story Monsters Approved award for Excellence in Literature.

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