Rorschach's mask (which he refers to as his "face") consisted of a specialized fabric, one that was actually two layers of fabric with viscous black and white fluids trapped between them. The fluids remained in constant motion, being affected by heat and pressure, however, the black and white colors never combined to form gray. The patterns formed by the fluids also maintained a consistent symmetrical pattern down the mid-line of whatever shape the fabric had been formed into.
Kovacs first discovered the fabric when he worked for a dressmaker. The fabric was originally made into a woman's dress and the marketing of such a product would be linked to Dr. Manhattan. The product's first customer was a woman named Kitty Genovese, who was unhappy with the dress, calling it "ugly" and refused to buy it. Kovacs thought differently however, and took possession of the fabric for himself, saying it was "very beautiful." At home he used heated instruments to shape the fabric into a full head covering, a face he "could look at in the mirror."
In a way it is true that this is his "real face" as the fluids react to his expressions, where without it, he usually never shows any facial expression, except anger or indifference.