When people have a "Bad Hair Day", the fix is usually a shampoo, conditioner, rinse & dry, or a trip to the salon, if preferred. But when you get an otherwise decent vintage doll with bad hair it's a different story. Water by itself doesn't do much with synthetic hair. Heat destroys it. Hair Spray makes it worse. So what is one to do?
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".
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".
Last Saturday we found this 1970 Crissy Doll, with the original box, at a Yard Sale for $6. The doll was basically in good shape, and the hair feed mechanism worked fine, but the hair was a mess. It was badly tangled, and the shorter hair on the head had molded itself out of shape while stored in the box (these attics here in Virginia can reach 130 degrees in the summer easily, and the heat does all kinds of wonderful things to whatever is stored in the attic...and dolls and toys are no exception). In addition, Crissy's hair was exceptionally stiff, so I suspect at some point someone tried to help her out with a bit of hair spray.
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.
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.
Step 2: Pour some of the Fabric Softener into the pan, and work into the hair. Use a spoon or cup to carefully soak the hair next to the head (you will need to continue to carefully "baste" the head over the next couple hours). Make sure you have enough softener to cover the rest of the hair, and let it soak a minimum of two hours. Some recommend letting it set overnight, but we have found a couple hours is usually sufficient. Notice how the pan can be tilted in the sink, keeping the hair wet and the doll dry.
Step Three: Partially dry the hair so that doesn't drip. While the hair is still wet, use a brush to carefully untangle the hair, starting at the ends and working towards the head. When the tangles are straightened, rinse the hair carefully once again. When done, lay the doll's hair out straight on paper towels and let dry naturally. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND USING HEAT or a blower, as it may damage or re-tangle the hair.
Step Four: When dry, brush out the hair once again. At this point - if preferred - you can use rollers or a low heat curler to style the doll's hair back to original or to customize. Although we did not do this to Crissy for this post, her hair should actually have some curling near the ends and we will be doing this in the near future. .
This technique works well for most anything with synthetic hair, including My Little Ponies & Barbie Dolls. Crissy's happy!