Hair Control – How to Soften Doll Hair
I get a lot of questions concerning hair control so here it is. It’s no secret that doll hair is synthetic (most of them anyways) so it needs to be heat treated to soften up. Most methods require you to dunk the head in boiling water. I’m super impatient so I actually use the steam from a kettle instead. The heat is instant and you don’t have to wait twice as long for it to dry. Whatever you do, don’t use a heat gun or hairdryer to try and dry doll hair. It will melt it away.
The picture is pretty self-explanatory. The idea is to put the head into the steam to get the hair to soften, get a brush and brush it through while it’s wet, then hold the hair in a position to how you want it. Ever see your Aunt May curl her hair with a curling iron? Same philosophy applies to straightening frizzed up hair, restyling it, or combing pigtails (Triad Toys’ Lola, cough).
All these things you should already have in your house, but you’ll need:
1) Straw or wooden dowel to prop the head up so you don’t get burned from the steam. Don’t leave your doll head on the body because the body is plastic and may react to heat.
2) Sandwich bag, cut out into small strips that should cover from the forehead to right below the nose.
3) Tape to secure the sandwich bag. We will make the hairguard so the hair doesn’t frizz out again before it sets.
4) Kettle – make sure you get one that has a small hole. The smaller the hole, the more steam comes out. Just make sure you control your heat and don’t use an open flame heat source. Electric is better so it doesn’t burn the hair if it gets too close.
5) Small rubber band to hold the lower end of the hair (if the hair is long) straight when setting.
I’ll be back with more tutorials soon. Now that I’m getting a little more time to stay in. Let me know if this type of picture/instructions help.
