Baby Doll Care & Doll Hair Care Tips

GENERAL DOLL CARE... Helpful tips to care for your dolls.

Dolls should be stored in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight. For long term storage, put a layer of acid free tissue between the doll and the fabric of the clothes to help keep colors and dyes from bleeding. Make sure to check your stored dolls on a regular basis to make sure there are no issues with insects, dampness or crushing. Never submerge a collectible doll in water, permanent damage can occur. 

Regular cleaning of porcelain and vinyl dolls can be done with a soft cloth and distilled water-no soap, bleach or chlorine products. If you have a cloth doll, you can vacuum it through a layer of netting, but never vacuum silk.

When you purchase a doll, you may want to save all packaging, certificates and inserts. This adds to the value of the doll, if you ever want to sell your doll on the secondary market. Historically, modern dolls without their original packaging have a lower resale value. 

Not everyone chooses to display their doll collection in a glass case because decorating with dolls is so much fun. A glass case display is the best way to limit dust exposure for the doll, but for those whose doll collections are not in a glass display, keep them clean and fresh by dusting them on a regular basis. Just as you dust your home, using a large brush works well on porcelain, vinyl and even hair.

General Tips:

NEVER wash your doll's hair. This will result in matted hair, which must be replaced (this is NOT covered under warranty). Most doll hair is made from the highest quality synthetic materials. Never use heated products such as blow dryers, curling irons or flat irons. This will cause damage to the hair and possibly the vinyl of your doll. If you need to do an extensive cleaning, use a slightly moist towel to gently wipe away dirt and debris, then allow to air dry.

Doll Hair Care:

Wigged – typically a synthetic hair material sewn on a skull cap, very similar to making wigs for humans. These doll wigs are glued on. Since it is sewn to the cap it often looks thicker than a real baby might have. When the runs of hair are too thin, the cap will show through.

Straight or Wavy Hair
For best results when combing/styling straight and wavy hair, we recommend using a using a wire wig brush to work out tangles and gently style.
With a firm hold on your doll begin to gently brush your doll’s hair, be careful not to pull too hard. Pulling or tugging too hard on the dolls may cause the wig to loosen and the head to pull away from the body.

To brush straight or slightly wavy hair styles, take hold of a small section of hair near the ends and begin to gently brush out the tangles. Continue brushing small sections, working your way up toward the base of the wig, but remember to brush down toward the ends.
If the hair is wavy, be very gentle at the ends of her hair to help preserve the curl.

TIP: To tame tangles cover your dolls body with a cloth or dolly style cape and lightly mist her hair with water. Work slowly and carefully to gently brush out tangles.

Curly or Textured Hair
For best results when combing/styling curly or textured hair, we recommend using a straight comb with pick on one end to work out tangles and gently style. With a firm hold on your doll, begin to gently pick or style your doll's hair, be careful not to pull too hard. Pulling or tugging too hard on the dolls may cause the wig to loosen and the head to pull away from the body. Gently pick your doll's hair from the ends up to remove tangles.

For tight curls, we recommend that you finger-style your doll's hair (think old-fashioned curlers) For best results follow the curled style of the wig. To finger style take a small section of hair and gently work your fingers through it, twirling as you go. Twirl in the direction that the curl naturally falls.

TIP: It’s important that you DO NOT use a brush on this type of wig as it can make it frizzy and remove the curl/texture.

Hand-applied Faux-Hair – this a very delicate type of hair is gently applied to baby collectible dolls and glued in place. It is not meant to be combed. It gives a very realistic infant hair look. It can be patted in place with a clean slightly damp cloth and gently style with your fingers - much like a real infant.

Hand-painted – Achieves the real newborn look! This hair is done by hand by an artisan, and while the artists strive to paint them the same, no two are alike.

Never use heated products on doll's hair such as blow dryers, flat irons, curling irons, etc.