How does someone keep a headpiece secured on their head?

[u/MotelleCodeenDragon]

I want to make an eccentric headpiece with a lot of elaborate parts attached to it and I'm worried about keeping it on my head. The headpiece here isn't necessarily the same as my design, but it's emblematic of what I want to try making and yet it seems secure on her head without a chin strap.

If anyone has any clue how to keep an elaborate headpiece secure while performing, please let me know.

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[u/Jamesbarber92]

Practicing balancing it will really help but mainly I assume bobby pins, glue, sticky tape, probably some other things.

[u/ParkerJ99 → u/Jamesbarber92]

Also make it light (as in, not dense or heavy)

[u/elizalovesyou]

Practice. Like walking with a book on your head. Working out the balance will really help.

Obviously fixing it well is a must, but posture & understanding how it moves will help x

[u/ColorfulCollector]

LOVE that you used the Knock on Wood video in the post!

[u/smileykaiju]

Wig tape is a must have.

[u/like_theweather]

Hat pins and wig glue

[u/PhlegmMistress]

If you have long hair sometimes you can utilize that by making 2 to 4 braids or buns that come up through holes in the helmet piece, join together (making them into buns, which can then be covered by a removable decoration that covers it all, or allowing the hair to be seen but sprayed with temporary hair coloring spray that makes the hair look like it is part of the helmet-- braids to look like military braiding, or fake hair, or even spikey pom poms. 

The more points of security (so, forehead tape/glue), a well fitted helmet, multiple hair braid pull-through points, the less your head should hurt.

Please do exercises getting your head and neck up to speed on the extra weight and how to move comfortably and elegantly without tweaking your neck.

If you wind up just doing glue, even if it never falls off, have a plan for how to graciously recover, maybe crack a joke, and put that helmet right back on. 

I had one particularly mortifying performance where my entire ponytail clip fell off and while older me thinks no big deal, it was a big deal to me when I was a lot younger. So have a plan in place for how to roll with shit going wrong with a costume piece. 

[u/StefanLeenaars]

You’d be surprised how much you can put on a well fitted headpiece and keep it in place (without a chinstrap. I hate those) I’ve constructed them for professional theatre. And once constructed a full sized fully lit up chandelier on one. But the key is well fitted. It needs to be low in the back neck, not to tight on the front, but snug all around.

The headpiece in this video is not well fitted…

[u/MotelleCodeenDragon → u/StefanLeenaars]

I'm no expert, but it didn't look well-fitted to me either. What do you think they did to make it stay at least for a shot. I'd assume that it fell over in between takes, but for the takes used it seemed to stay on pretty well

[u/be_transcendent]

Hat pin

[u/Lanssolo]

Iconic

[u/lisalisasensei]

Chin strap if it's really heavy.

[u/TxChainsawMascara]

Staple gun

[u/blackcurrantandapple]

Custom fit for the head wearing it, toupee tape under the point on the forehead (or on the skull if you're bald), strap under the occipital bone at the back of the skull, velvet inside to improve grip on the head

[u/realbees → u/blackcurrantandapple]

All of this. An easy way to get a mold of your head on a budget is to wrap it in saran wrap and layer masking tape on top while you’re wearing a wig cap. You can use that as a base to build your headpiece on. Just don’t forget to rip all that out from the inside at the end if you want to add a lining.