Bloody effects can really liven up Halloween events and it’s useful to know how to make your own DIY fake blood for Halloween. Having a quick and easy fake blood recipe can come in handy to give costumes, parties and even pranks a realistic effect.
Below you will find four DIY fake blood recipe options along with suggestions about how to choose the best type of blood for your situation. The best part about DIY fake blood is how quick and convenient it is to whip up a bloody mess.
Choosing A Fake Blood Recipe
There are many DIY fake blood recipes out there, and a few listed here. Since fake blood is often made out of convenience, here are four recipes to offer you different choices of ingredients you might have handy.
Something to know when picking a fake blood recipe is whether you want a non-toxic or non-staining fake blood mixture.
Basically you will be choosing between a syrup based or soap based fake blood recipe.
Syrup Fake Blood Recipe
The great thing about syrup based DIY fake blood is that it’s based in food ingredients and is non-toxic. This means it’s safe to use on the skin and even in your mouth.
Syrup based DIY fake blood can be made with corn syrup, chocolate syrup, golden syrup or other food products.
This is the kind of blood you want to use when applying blood effects on your face, mouth or skin. The downside of syrup based fake blood is that it will stain everything, including your hair.
→ Be prepared to do some scrubbing to clean yourself up after Halloween night.
Detergent Fake Blood Recipe
A fake blood recipe with soap or detergent as an ingredient is less likely to leave a stain, but it is toxic.
This means DIY fake blood containing soaps or detergents shouldn’t be used in your mouth or eyes. Also, because it’s toxic, this fake blood should not be used on the face at all and extended exposure on your skin should be avoided.
The benefit of this kind of homemade fake blood is that it washes off the skin, clothing and other objects that can be hand or machine washed.
It can be used to decorate the home, clothing and other decorations. However, I don’t recommend using any fake blood products on carpet, valuable rugs, etc. because there is always a risk of stains due to the red dye color.
Buying vs. DIY Fake Blood
Whether you should buy or make your fake blood depends on a few factors, including your personal preference.
Below are a few common benefits to purchasing fake blood and a few benefits to using DIY fake blood. Keep these in mind this Halloween when deciding what kind of blood you prefer.
When to use DIY Fake Blood
• Time: You need fake blood now! Homemade fake blood can be quick and easy if you already have all the ingredients available nearby.
• Cost: DIY fake blood can cost less than store bought if you already have most of the ingredients handy.
• Fun: It can be fun to make fake blood, especially if you have older kids to do it with.
• Amount: If you only need a few ounces or a pint of this bloody substance, than DIY fake blood can be a great way to go.
When to Purchase Fake Blood
• Convenience: When you don’t have the time to buy ingredients or experiment with fake blood recipes, buying fake blood can be the way to go. Fake blood can be found at many stores including Target and Amazon, which makes purchasing it very convenient.
• Mess: DIY fake blood is great, but it does inevitably make a mess. If messy stains are an issue, you might not want to make fake blood at home.
• Amount: When you need large amounts of fake blood, buying multiple pints or gallons can much easier than trying to make it.
• Low Cost: Overall, the cost of fake blood is not that expensive when compared to other Halloween decorations. A pint or gallon of fake blood is pretty low-cost depending on where you get it.
Local shops should have it for a good price and stores like Amazon have a pint of Halloween Vampire Blood for under ten dollars.
4 DIY Fake Blood Recipes
Easy Fake Blood Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Clear Corn Syrup (3 Parts)
- 1/4 cup Water (1 Parts)
- 3 drops Red Food Coloring
- 1 drop Blue Food Coloring
- Chocolate Syrup or Corn Starch to thicken
Instructions
- Pour corn syrup and water into a bowl and combine. The amount you use depends on how much fake blood you want to make. Use 3 parts corn syrup for every 1 part of water.
- Add Red food coloring. Start with 3 drops for a small amount of blood, mix and add more red to get the shade desired.
- Next add a drop or two of Blue food coloring to get a deeper shade of color. Start with one drop, mix and add more as needed. Be conservative with your blue food coloring because it’s hard to fix if you put too much blue.
Consistency of Blood
- Chocolate Syrup: Use chocolate syrup to get the desired consistency. It will thicken the fake blood mixture and give it a more realistic color tint. Corn Starch: If you don’t have chocolate syrup, use Corn Starch as needed to get the thickness you desire. If the blood mixture becomes lumpy from the corn starch, strain the fake blood to make it a smooth liquid again.
- Once your DIY fake blood is mixed, place it in a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Washable Fake Blood Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Dish Soap
- 2 cups Corn Syrup
- 1 cup Chocolate Syrup
- Liquid Red Food Coloring
- Liquid Blue Food Coloring
Instructions
- Pour corn syrup and chocolate syrup into a bowl.
- Add red food coloring drops until you get the red color you are looking for. Using liquid food coloring is better than gel food coloring for DIY fake blood. Expect to use quite a few drops to get a deep blood red color.
- Once you have a good blood red color, add a little blue food coloring to deepen the DIY fake blood to a more realistic shade. Add the blue one drop at a time and mix, because it can change the color dramatically.
- Add the dish soap and mix. Your DIY fake blood is ready!
Notes
Homemade Fake Blood Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1 cup Corn Syrup (Clear/Light)
- 1/2 Tablespoon Dish Soap (Clear or Blue)
- 5/8 Teaspoon Powdered Coffee Creamer
- Red Food Coloring
- Yellow Food Coloring
- Blue Food Coloring
Instructions
- Pour 1 cup of corn syrup into a bowl.
In a separate bowl:
- Take water and add food coloring to it. Food coloring ratio will be 8 Red to 1 Yellow with a tiny bit of blue depending on what type of food coloring you are using. So if you are using a liquid food coloring, start with 8 drops of red, 1 drop of yellow and add less than a drop of blue into the mixture. Mix them all together.
- Pour the colored water into the bowl of corn syrup and mix.
- Add the dish soap into the colored corn syrup bowl and mix.
In a separate bowl:
- Take the coffee creamer powder and dissolve it in a small amount of water until it’s the consistency of milk. Once dissolved, add it to the fake blood mixture and mix it in.
- Now look at the fake blood mixture and decide if it’s the color you want. If your mixture has a tomato juice color, add more red until you get a deep red color. If the mixture is too bright, add a little blue to darken it up. Add blue carefully as it can change your mixture color quickly.
- Once you have the color you like, store or use your homemade fake blood.
Blender Fake Blood Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Water
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 1 tablespoon Red Food Coloring
- 1 drop Green Food Coloring
Instructions
- Pour water and red food coloring into blender and mix.
- Add powdered sugar and blend well.
- Pour in cocoa and blend.
- Now you have arterial bright red blood. Add a drop of green food coloring to darken up the color and make fake blood with a more realistic look. You may need to add more than one drop of green, but do so carefully because it changes the color drastically.
Notes
Storing DIY Fake Blood
Treat your DIY fake blood like an edible paint for storage. To avoid staining, a glass jar with screw lid is a great container for the fresh blood. These fake blood recipes can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days or in a cool, dark place. After a few days it’s better to make fresh batch of fake blood.
Halloween projects use all different kinds of blood. There is bright, crimson, thin, thick, arterial, venous, fresh, old, bleeding wounds and many more types of blood. For this reason, no single fake blood recipe will work for everyone.
This is why you can find so many different recipes out there, and a lot of them are good. The key is to pick a fake blood recipe and experiment until you get the color and consistency you want.
The good news is that making fake blood is fun!