Styrofoam heads

[Wolfie]

Hi,

I have been using styrofoam heads to display my masks but lately I've been reading (around the NET if you believe) that the styrofoam is actually bad for latex (makes it rot sooner). Is this true? If so, what is the issue?

Just curious as I always thought that the styrofoam heads were perfect for displaying masks.

Thanks

[DBX576]

Not sure what the styrofoam does to latex but I do have some latex masks on styro heads and one is getting rotted and the others are fine. The one that is rotting is very thin so it may be close to it's time to go any way. Almost all of my latex masks are displayed by stuffing the masks with plastic bags from the supermarket and the placing them on a finished soda bottle thats filled with water. It's junk i was gonna throw away any way so it's good, free and works better then the styrofoam heads.

[butcherd at birth]

Ive had masks on Styrofoam heads for years without any ill effects but this isn't the first time this has come up so who knows.

[The Maskahuna]

Styrofoam, like any foam, is absorbent. Its nature is to
draw moisture. I'm no chemist but I've never heard of
any element in styrofoam that degenerates rubber.
What it might do is make the rubber dry out sooner
than a non-porous filling like plastic bags. Try bagging
your styrofoam head in plastic so it's not in direct
contact with the latex, Wolfie.

[Wolfie]

Thanks Huna,

I guess I'm just wondering if any of these stories are true. I have always put my masks on styrofoam.

[kklloo]

what is the difference between using styrofoam or foam filling the mask? Will foam filling absorb the moisture as well or is it an entirely different substance.

[razorwyre1]

what is the difference between using styrofoam or foam filling the mask? Will foam filling absorb the moisture as well or is it an entirely different substance.

completely apples and oranges. different chemistry and different circumstances.

urethane foam forms a thin outer skin as it rises. once it has hardened, if that skin is cut away, the exposed inner foam will absorb water, just as a sponge will, for the same reason. as the foam is rising, it is forming that skin against the inside surface of the mask. even if it weren't, i doubt that it would pull any moisture out of the latex itself, even over a long period of time.

ive got old foam filled mold masters that are over 20 years old that are just fine.

[The Maskahuna]

I have foamfilled castings over forty years old. Although the rubber is
no longer supple, they still retain their original shape. A styrofoam wig
stand will only support the top of the head whereas everything dangling
below is subject to the ill effects of time and gravity. A custom foamfill
provides more evenly distributed support.

[Toy Ranch]

I have a 60's Metaluna Mutant that may be a great example of what foam filling does for a mask. When I got it, it was hard and cracking and had some tears and areas missing in the mask, but the top of the head was filled when it was new. That area remains not only intact, but supple and it has elasticity without any cracking or ill effects of time. The Mask Doctor restored the rest, but it's still hard on the bottom, and soft on the top.