People ask me questions about my head making process quite a bit so I figured I'd share the process I use.
I start with a martial arts foam head gear. It's 3/4" foam dipped in Vinyl. I shave about 1/4-3/8" of foam so the overall head shape is smaller then cover the vent holes with plastic mesh.
1/16" aluminum is cut and bent to create a face frame which makes the head quite rigid. Also it makes it so no part of the fursuit head is touching your face.
The aluminum frame is covered by felt covered plastic mesh. The felt is on the inside of the head for more of a finished look.
3" firm foam is used for the muzzle which goes above and below the aluminum and 1" foam is used for everything else. The foam is cut with a vertical band saw which helps with symmetry. There isn't a lot of foam carving to do other than to bevel the edges in varying angles.
Black felt is used to smooth out the forehead area, also to connect foam seams for extra durability.
The bottom jaw is a separate piece that is covered in fur and glued in later. The foam for the bottom jaw is lined with 2 pieces of aluminum then covered with black felt adding strength and rigidity.

This head completed (furred and all) weighs 2 lbs, 12 ounces. for comparison a pair of my size 13 tennis shoes weighs just under 2 pounds.

My style has changed a lot over the past 12 years I have been using the martial arts headgear. After making 150+ heads I'm still making tweaks but I can't see doing it any other way.