One solution is affectionately called the "Downy Dunk". Yep, that Downy...the fabric softener. Here's something to try the next time you experience that "doll in distress".
To fix her, we first needed to assemble the basics. We start with Dawn dish washing detergent, and Downy fabric softener. We prefer the non-concentrated softener, and some may prefer to use the unscented version if sensitive to smells, as the softener will retain the scent when all is finished. The softener is to synthetic hair what conditioners are to human hair. You will also need a tray of sorts to tilt the doll into without immersing the entire body (Paint Roller Trays work very nicely).
As an important side note here, many prefer to "waterproof" a doll at this point, especially the eye area to prevent water and chemicals from seeping into the dolls inside, which could cause other problems. This can be easily accomplished by carefully using a plastic wrap. Some websites recommend taping the eye areas but we DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS because the tape can damage the face, eyebrows, and eyelids on some dolls, especially older ones. We decided to just do Crissy carefully.
Step 1: Wash the hair using the Dawn Detergent, and carefully rinse.