I have a couple of dolls in my collection who had very frizzy, dry, messy hair that needed major TLC. In fear of making their hair worse with regular combing and washing, I did some research online before getting started. A lot of collectors and dolly parents used fabric softeners on their doll's hair and got amazing results.
I used an Ultra Downy fabric softener with Silk Touch and Sun Blossom scent. It was the only one on the shelf that didn't have blue or green coloring in it and it was on super sale.
Have an Responsible Adult's Help when using or operating Hot Water!!
First I put some softener into a bowl of hot water and dipped her hair in, then I lay her on a towel on a flat surface and began carefully and gently brushing her hair out starting near the bottom and brushing towards the tips, working my way upward to the scalp in short, gentle strokes, stopping to re-dip her hair in between the brushing so the tangles come out easier without breaking the hair too much. I also used a tooth pick to recreate the part in her hair line and pull forward her bangs that were lost in the tangles. After her hair was all straightened out I gave her a thorough rinse with tap water and dried her off. Next I cut some straws and light colored pipe cleaners to use as hair curlers. I used clear hair elastics to hold the straw curlers together and wrapped a couple elastics around her head (not too tight and taking care not to put them directly on the face paint) to hold her hair down on the sides. Once I had all the elastics and curlers in place I very carefully poured hot water from a tea kettle on to the top of her head holding the doll out diagonally and upside down to avoid burning myself or getting too much heat on her face, as you don't want the doll's face paint to come off or her head to melt, allowing her new bangs and hair line to reset. Next I poured more boiling water into a bowl than dipped the curled ends of her hair into it a few times. I dried her body with a towel and let her lay on the edge of the sink so the water would drip down into the drain and not onto the floor. After a while I stood her up on her stand, leaning her back with a towel under her on my desk to dry thoroughly overnight. The next day I removed the curlers and brushed the ends of her hair out to get a more wild curly look.
!!!'Wow'!!! She's a whole new girl!!!
Because it was scented softener the dolls do smell strongly of Sun Blossom fragrance which was an improvement for the second doll I used it on, poor Chelsea reeked of musty old storage when I received her.
Chelsea's Pictures
I did not brush the ends of Chelsea's after taking off the curlers for her new look.
I used the straw curlers on her only and before I started on her hair I cleaned her body with a damp cloth and mild soap, as she was quite dirty.
For dolls with straight hair that were only a little messy I put the diluted softener in a little spray bottle I found at the Dollar Store and sprayed a little on their hair, bushed, rinsed, let dry than finally brushed again.
Julirsia's before and after pictures.
I'm not the best person on explaining how to do things but there are a lot of amazing tips on the Internet and videos on YouTube.
More dolls that I have recently used the fabric softener on in early March
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
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