How to Look Like a Zombie

Co-authored by Joseph Harwood

Last Updated: June 24, 2024

Whether you’re getting ready for a Halloween costume contest or you have a part in a scary movie, it’s easy and fun to look like a zombie. Once you get the wardrobe and makeup down, all you have to do is master the moves!

Steps

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1
Apply makeup. You can use makeup to create the illusion of a deathly pallor. A white/grey, purple or green tint works well for most people. Go to the drugstore and look for under-eye concealer or foundation base in these colors. Also purchase some dark eye shadow, eyeliner and baby powder.
- Apply the base over your entire face and down your neck to get that unhealthy pallor.
- Get directly under a light source and start using eye shadow to accent sunken areas of your face, such as your eye sockets and around the mid-way of your cheeks. Find shadows and darken those a lot.
- Black out your eyes completely, but keep it under control. Make it look like your eye sockets have shrunken in about an inch. Get darker towards the middle and inside corners of the eyes, making sure to accent natural shadows but a bit more darker. (you can even try a darker gray shade; this sometimes works better for a realistic effect than black).
- Use baby powder on your face to make your skin look dull and dead. Put a lot on so it looks like you're pale and dead and use some colors like pale light green or grayish-green eye shadow and apply it in some parts of your face and around the areas you had darkened. Lighten the color of your eyebrows.If you want to be a zombie you have to look as realistic as possible.
- Apply solid red lipstick on parts where later you will apply your 'fake blood' on your lips and apply some dabs of purple or grayish or maroon lipstick to make it look like as if the blood is a bit dried and look more realistic.
- If you want or can afford you can purchase contact lenses with the scary eyeballs. Well, most people think it is unnecessary to have them and any ways you can look scary enough even without these lenses but it's up to you to decide. There are many people who didn't use these on Halloween so there's no need to worry if you are not buying.
2
Mess up your hair. Try to make your hair look like you just rolled out of a grave.You can also use a lot of hair oil to make your hair look greasy.
- Backcomb it at the roots. You can also apply hairspray, then use a small teasing comb or brush to tease your hair (brush hair in the "opposite" direction toward the roots). Do this in small sections. Your hair will stay messed up (or in place) if you use hair oil and when you use other cosmetics on your hair (such as powder or your fake blood on your hair) it will come out easily in the end of the day when you take a shower.
- Apply baby powder. Rub some baby powder into your hair to make it look grey and ashen.
- If you have long hair, you can either leave it down or pull it into a messy up-do or even rub your head against your pillow. An extremely crooked ponytail, ratty braids or a falling-apart bun look appropriately disheveled.
- Try starting with bedhead. If you're going to dress like a zombie first thing in the morning, try washing your hair right before you go to sleep the night before. Sleeping on wet hair will automatically make it look wild and mussed, and it might even get pushed far to one side like you've been lying in a grave. Or just not brush your hair when you wake up.
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3
Make fake blood . For one fluid cup (probably more than you'll ever use), do this:
- 1 1/2 cups of corn syrup. Do not use pancake syrup, which can make the blood go a bit gold.
- 1-2 tbsp of red food coloring.
- Some chocolate syrup, like the kind you put on ice cream (not a "shell" type).
- A couple small drops of blue or green food coloring, for color preference. This will give your "blood" a deeper, more realistic red.
- Mix well and add small amounts of water until desired consistency/smearing factor is achieved.
- An alternative mix uses honey for thickness and stickiness instead of corn syrup, washing-up liquid (dish soap) (e.g. Fairy Liquid) and red and blue food coloring. The washing-up liquid helps the blood wash out of your clothes later. Play around with the ratio of honey to washing-up liquid to get the right consistency - different brands vary. Be warned, though - pine-scented dish soap isn't very tasty, so if you're putting this mix in your mouth, use a minimal amount!
- To get a more paste-like or thicker consistency, petroleum jelly works very well. Just mix the food dyes in, or used a crushed maroon or red eyeshadow.
4
Apply fake blood . Here's the fun part, unless you get sick easily. Go nuts.
- Give yourself some wounds of some kind. Dribble blood into your hairline and let it run down your face, arms, legs and hands.
- If you want bullet holes, get a really black marker and draw holes on your shirt. Then dribble down some fake blood around it.
- For the "I just got done munching on the neighbor" look, pour a fair amount of blood into your hand, and then "eat" it, to get a nice mouth smear. Then, put some more in your mouth (this mix is non-toxic, unlike some others) and let it dribble down your chin and throat.
- If you have time, allow some blood to dry a little (about 10 minutes) and then re-apply another layer differently, to get a nice effect.
- Try to go for dark colored fake blood, as bright red blood will give you a cartoony appearance.
5
Get your costume looking right. Here are the basic steps for getting your clothes properly trashed.
- Go outside and roll around in dirt. Try to find some mud and roll in it.
- While applying fake blood, make sure you're messy, and get it on your clothes. This stuff runs and seeps in quite well and looks extremely convincing.
- Use a knife or other pointed implement (carefully!) and rip holes into your costume.
6
Act zombie-like. Zombies are slow, stiff, dim-witted, can't talk well, if at all, and crave human flesh.
- Make moaning and gasping sounds when you breathe through your mouth. It adds great effect. Your jaw should hang slack at most times. If you must make other noises, talk in gibberish or moan louder/higher. Moaning always works.
- Shamble, don't walk. Lean forward and almost fall with every step. Adding a limp or dragging one leg works great as well. Swing your arms limply, like you don't ever use them.
- When passing people, growl or groan at them and wave your arms. Some higher-level zombies tend to moan for " brains!!! " as well. If you want to get some laughs, say "Hi!" to some people, and wave. You'll be hilarious. If you want to really freak someone out, go to a movie theater with a zombie movie out (if there is one). In the middle of the movie, where tension is highest, walk across the front of the screen. That will scare at least half the people in there.
- Act stupid. The average zombie has an IQ barely above freezing temperature. They will run into walls, trip, fall, and can't work with their hands.

Expert Q&A

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How do you do zombie scars?

Joseph Harwood
Beauty, DEI & Social Media Expert
Joseph (JoJo) Harwood is a Beauty, DEI & Social Media Expert, Artist, CEO of Joseph Hartwood Ltd, and Creative Director of Team Baron Group. With over 15 years of experience, they specialize in all aspects of beauty, digital media production, and supporting diversity and inclusion efforts in businesses. JoJo has pioneered YouTube content and branding, with over 100 million views on their YouTube tutorial content and was the first and only winner of Simon Cowell's You Generation Competition. They studied an MSc in Cosmetic Science from the London College of Fashion, combining a technical understanding of cosmetics with beauty expertise.

Joseph Harwood

Beauty, DEI & Social Media Expert

Expert Answer

Use toilet paper and liquid latex! Take a section of toilet paper and split it apart so it's the very thinnest it can be. Then, draw a unique shape on your skin (like the shape of a country). Apply the thin toilet paper to the shape with liquid latex, ripping it along the edges of the outline to create a ridge. This makes it look like the flesh has fallen at a different level to skin. Fill in the inside of that ridge with brown blood to finish off the look.

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What other products can I use to make my face white?

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If you can't use face paint, loose powder is a good substitute! It gives you a good mix of colors including skin tone and white. I also use another method where I mix foundation and eye shadow to create a white "paint."

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What can I do if I have dresses for a costume but I am not allowed to tear them?

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Get some old clothes from a thrift store that you can tear and rip apart.

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Tips

Wear your full costume during blood application to keep a consistent look.

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Have someone carry your cell phone and wallet for you. A texting zombie is unconvincing.

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Never leave a fellow zombie behind - it's never fun to be the only undead one when your fellow corpses have all left.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Personalize your zombie attire with details like a specific theme or backstory. For example, you could be Chef Zombie still wearing an apron. Details like this will make your costume stand out.
Use non-toxic ingredients, especially around your mouth and eyes. You don't want to accidentally ingest something that could make you sick. Do research to verify ingredients are safe.
Practice walking slowly and stiffly before going out in your zombie costume. Having your zombie shuffle down will make your whole look more authentic. Let your jaw hang loose too.
Think about adjusting your scariness depending on your audience. Go all-out around friends, but tone it down around sensitive people to avoid upsetting them.
When trick-or-treating, say "brains" instead of "trick or treat," but still thank people politely afterward. Get into character without being rude.
Be respectful around little kids who may get truly frightened and upset by a convincing zombie costume. Never purposefully scare young children.

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Warnings

Be careful pouring fake blood into your ear—don't let it get in your inner ear canal, as it may cause infection. Better to just smear it around or use a cotton swab to give the dribble-effect.

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The fake blood mixture can be very sticky, so be careful if you have to get in a car or another place you don't want to make a mess of.

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Avoid little kids if possible. They don't know it's fake and you'll get their parents mad.

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Use reflective strips for safety and visibility to drivers if you are doing this at night.

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Don't touch anyone! People will usually take this in the wrong way and scream for help.

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Do not do anything illegal. Dressing up in a costume is not an excuse to break windows, loot shops, or flip cars. There will be consequences!

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If you are actually scaring one of your friends or family, or just freaking out a couple of strangers to the point where it's more than just screaming, then you should stop. If people start running away or even attacking you, then it's not funny anymore. At this point, break character and reassure them that it's just for fun.

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If the cops stop you, your boss tells you to clock out early, or you are generally confronted by anyone who has a problem, be friendly and understanding, and let them win any arguments. You're the one breaking social convention here.

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Things You'll Need

A mirror (hand or wall-mounted)
Golden or white corn syrup (or honey, or dish soap, or petroleum jelly)
Red food coloring and blue or green food coloring in small amounts
Chocolate syrup
Light base makeup or concealer (white, purple or green)
Medium grey eyeshadow
Dark grey/black eyeshadow
Black marker
Baby powder
Comb
Hairspray
Clothes you can stain, rip, get filthy, and otherwise generally ruin
Mod podge can be used for wounds if you can't find or afford liquid latex- but do an allergy test first!
Regular eyeshadow can make bruises and dirt