If you have to act crying in a play, put on a costume or prank someone, you know how hard it is to get your eyes red and look the way you want them to. Getting your eyes red requires a way that is often difficult to get the same result, even if you've done it right. However, using clever and safe ways to irritate your eyes, make you cry, or even if you need to apply makeup, you'll usually get pretty good results, though they may not be quite what you want.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Irritating the Eyes the Safe Way
Step 1. Peel the onion and apply a small amount under your eyes
Isn't this a very easy way to do with very simple ingredients to make someone cry and turn their eyes red in just a few minutes? This method is not expensive, it only requires onions. Onions produce syn-propanethial-S-oxide, a chemical that causes red eyes. Peeling or chopping an onion will usually make your eyes water, but you will need a longer exposure to make your eyes shed enough tears to turn red. Try rubbing the center of the onion or the cutlets under your eyes several times until your eyes look red.
- Avoid so-called "sweet" onions (such as Vidalia onions), as they won't cause enough irritation and tears. For best results, choose onions that have a strong aroma.
- For a gentler method, place a few pieces of onion in a tissue or handkerchief and sweep them under your eyes. The cloth will protect your eyes from direct contact with the onion, but the irritating material should be enough to make you cry, as the tissue isn't very thick.
- If you're trying to fake crying, for added effect, try rubbing menthol on the inside of your nostrils, so your nose will run out too.
- Do not apply menthol directly to the eyes, as it will be very uncomfortable.
Step 2. Alternatively, try using peppermint oil
One method that looks similar to the menthol method above is to use the peppermin oil method. Use the same method as the steps above, dabbing a little under your eyes, to achieve the same effect, namely oil vapors that will irritate the eyes. Same as above, avoid direct eye contact with oil, because it can cause discomfort.
Peppermint oil can be found in large supermarkets, especially health food vendors. But if it's not available, it may be cheaper to use menthol or onion, as peppermint oil is usually more expensive per volume
Step 3. Resist the urge to blink
If you need to get red eye immediately, don't worry, because you can get it even without the help of any tools. Resist the urge to blink, keep your eyes open as long as possible. Since blinking is your body's way of lubricating your eyes, if you don't blink your eyes will become dry. At that time, the eyes will become irritated, puffy, red and slightly watery. But be aware that this method can be a bit of a pain!
For added effect, try looking at the light when you open your eyes. Do not point it at a bright light such as the sun, as this can cause eye damage and even blindness
Step 4. Gently rub the area under your eyes
One way to induce red eye in the eyes that is often used for watching TV and movies is to make a fist and rub it into the area around your eyes. This mild physical irritant can cause onion-like and other chemical irritants, such as red, watery eyes. If you want to try this method, be sure to use "gentle pressure". Important parts of your eye such as the iris and cornea are very vulnerable, so don't damage your vision just because you want to make your eyes red.
In addition, be sure to close your eyes, and don't touch them directly. This is to prevent bacteria from entering your eyes from your hands (which contain lots of bacteria after daily activities), which can cause eye infections
Step 5. Swim
Chlorine in swimming pools is a good disinfectant, but it can also irritate the eyes, although some studies have shown other chemicals cause it. However, swimming in a chlorinated pool without goggles can cause your eyes to become puffy and inflamed (although the damage isn't serious and will go away in a short period of time). The effect will increase if you keep your eyes open underwater for a long period of time. Be sure not to wear swimming goggles, as they will protect your eyes so the pool water won't make your eyes red.
Salt water pools will also work to make your eyes red. But some health sources state that salt water is less irritating than chlorine, so the effect may be less
Step 6. Reduce your sleep time
While this isn't an ideal solution for most people (especially those who need to focus in the morning), cutting back on sleep will usually make your eyes red in the morning. As long as you don't make it a habit, not sleeping through the night usually doesn't have a drastic effect on your health.
- But repeated lack of sleep is not good for your health, as it can lead to decreased cognitive abilities, decreased sex drive, depression, and an increased risk of serious illness and heart disease.
- Remember not to drive sleepy. Because lack of sleep will lower body reflexes and interfere with your ability to make decisions quickly, so it will be dangerous for you to drive. One Australian study found that a person who was awake for 24 hours had the same impairment as a person with a blood alcohol content of 0.1 (the maximum alcohol limit in most countries is usually 0.08).
Method 2 of 4: Using Psychological Strategies
Step 1. Think about something sad or distressing
Learning how to make your eyes red and watery on demand pretending to cry can be very difficult; even professional actors sometimes have to try it again and again. While there's no "right" way to do it, some psychological tricks can really help you. One strategy you can use is to use memories that make you sad, such as the death of a close friend or family member, an embarrassing event you've experienced, or a major worry or fear in your life. The sadder you feel and the darker and more depressed your thoughts are, the easier it will be for you to get into situations that make you cry.
- Other examples of things that might help you cry are: a breakup, a recent fight, a time when friends or family betrayed you, people who walked away from your life, and when you were worried about someone you care about.
- It can be helpful to try to convince yourself that everyone but you has "lived their own lives." Try to live up to those feelings of hopelessness and sadness, thinking to yourself, "Well, I'm not going to be successful and happy." However, "make sure" you don't sink into this feeling of sadness after you're done pretending to be sad. The last thing you want is to actually suffer from depression.
Step 2. Focus on personal pain
In the words of a New York University acting arts lecturer, an actor who pretends to cry must be able to "tightly associate a scene or piece of writing with something special or personal for him, so that what is expected in the scene is reduced, and closer to reality." her own secrets, desires and fears." In other words, the best way to make yourself sad enough to cry is to immerse yourself in thoughts about your deepest and greatest fears. Try to convince yourself mentally that your ability to pretend to cry will be what defines your worth as a person, even if it's not. Prepare yourself to dig and face your greatest enemy.
A famous actor, Bryan Cranston who played in Breaking Bad, has opened his secret in an interview about the greatest fear that helped him to portray convincingly as someone who is mentally disturbed. Describing one scene where his character witnessed the death of a female character in the film, Cranston explained: "The image of my daughter replaced her face, and then I gasped -- she was still a child. She could have been my own child."
Step 3. Make yourself feel angry or frustrated
Red, watery eyes don't always have to be sad. Sometimes this display can be expressed by anger or frustration, especially if this was caused by someone close to you. If you're having a hard time crying over sadness, try mixing your feelings with anger to get them. For example, you may need to try to think about the difficulties in your life that are bothering you the most, such as a family with self-destructive behavior who won't listen to your advice.
Some other things you can think about are: the time you didn't get an award or promotion, the time your rival won against you, the time you were treated unfairly by someone and the time you witnessed or experienced some social injustice
Step 4. Use mobile media to help you
You don't have to use 100% of your inner motivation to cry, sometimes an outside source can really help you too. This is a strategy often used by actors both to get into an emotional situation and to show someone who is experiencing deep emotions. Movies, books, songs and other art forms that can inspire deep sadness or frustration can be very effective here; the following are some of the things you can use, but actually there are many more.
- Movies: The Notebook, The Green Mile, The Fault In Our Stars, Titanic, Dumbo, Up, Come and See (Russian film)
- Books: The Kite Runner, The Giver, Wuthering Heights, The Idiot, the last Harry Potter series, any book made into the above film.
- Songs: Yesterday (Beatles), The Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young), Brenda's Got a Baby (Tupac Shakur), Bad Religion (Frank Ocean), almost all Elliott Smith songs.
Step 5. Take control of your expectations
Keep in mind that the strategies in this section may be more difficult than the others in this article, even if you are someone who actually cries easily. Making yourself sad enough to cry may be as difficult as making yourself amused. Even famous actors often have a hard time bringing themselves to tears, so be prepared to resort to other methods if these psychological methods don't work for you.
Method 3 of 4: Creating "Fake" Red Eyes
Step 1. Consider applying makeup
If you can't cry, fake it! With the right tricks, you can make your eyes look like they've just been crying, even if you feel fine. Since this trick doesn't actually irritate your eyes, it will be more comfortable than the methods mentioned above. For example, try these strategies to create fake red eyes:
- Dab red eyeliner around your eyes. You can also use red eyeshadow or lip liner, just make sure that your lip liner is soft enough to work around your eyes. Dab along the lower eyelid. For a stronger red effect, you can also dab it on the upper eyelid.
- Blot the liner over your skin using a cotton ball or makeup brush. To make your eyes appear red, you need to create a red shadow around the lids. The red dot should not be visible, so blur it until you can no longer see the red dot.
Step 2. Consider wearing colored contact lenses
One easy way to redden your eyes is to use rosy contact lenses that are specially made to show the veins. However, you need to choose contact lenses that make the white part of your eye turn red instead of the iris (the part that is usually blue, green, or brown). If you make your irises red, you'll look like a vampire or demon, not like someone who just cried.
Some drama prop companies make such lenses for film and stage plays, so if you want a high-quality product, you can buy one there. But the price of these products is usually quite expensive, with the price of professional quality contact lenses usually costing more than 1 million rupiah
Step 3. Amplify the effect with a "tear stick
If you're making fake red eyes for a film production or stage play, it's a good idea to add tears to it to make it look more realistic. In this case, you may need to purchase a "tear wand," which is a tool some actors use. Basically this wand is a semisolid gel containing menthol, which is usually available in a tube that resembles a lipstick and is applied by applying it under the eyes, as the menthol vapor stimulates the production of tears.
Note that the active ingredient in the kit is menthol, and it actually works in the same way as the menthol method described in the first section
Method 4 of 4: Things to Avoid
Step 1. Do not use strong irritants like chili, pepper, etc
Putting your eyes at risk for health problems is not a good idea for red eyes. Don't give anything that could potentially irritate your eyes, including chemical irritants like pepper and natural ingredients like chili peppers. In sufficient quantities, this material is at risk of causing eye damage and even blindness.
Step 2. Don't directly irritate your eyeballs
If you use a method that rubs the skin around your eyes to make your eyes red, be sure not to touch your eyeballs directly. Even if you don't injure them, you can transfer bacteria from your hands into your eyes, which can lead to infection (as mentioned above). This risk is even greater if you have recently touched something that contains a lot of bacteria (such as a doorknob).
In addition, because your eyeball is a very vulnerable area, touching it directly can sometimes cause physical injury. Even minor scratches can be very annoying to your eye, while more serious injuries (such as corneal damage) will require medical attention to treat them
Step 3. Don't use marijuana just to make your eyes red
Maybe you know that marijuana can make your eyes very red. While this is true, consuming marijuana for this purpose is not a good idea. If you're red-eyed for the purpose of acting out, the cognitive impairment caused by marijuana hangovers can complicate your role. Even marijuana use is illegal.
