How to Minimize Glue Seepage/ Oily Doll Hair
It took me awhile to encounter it but after I did it just kept popping up again and again and again. I am of course talking about the much dreaded glue head problem that many doll collectors have with their fashion dolls. Rock hard dolls head covered with oily and tacky hair that clumps and refuses to be brushed or tamed. Simple soap and water do nothing and brushing cornstarch through hair is only a short term solution. Now, while I don’t claim this method to completely rid you of your glue problem for good it may still help alleviate it a bit. That said, this works best for doll collectors who don’t mind restyling hair.
WARNING: Satisfaction not guaranteed. I am not responsible for any damages that may occur to your doll such as staining* or loss of doll hair if you follow these instructions. Please proceed at your own risk.
Materials:
Step 1: If you haven’t removed your doll head now is the time to do so. You can soften the plastic either by warm water or a hair dryer on a warm setting.
Step 2: Apply some Goo Gone on the hair and massage through the sticky spots. Then apply some Goo Gone inside the head. Try to massage it in by squeezing the doll head if you can, or swish it around with a Q-Tip/ cotton swab.
Step 3: Let it sit for a bit to soften the glue inside.
Step 4: Rinse out the excess Goo Gone and wash the head with soap. Make sure you pour some soap and warm water inside the head cavity as well. Cover the hole with your thumb and give it a good shake! Pour out the greasy soapy water. You may seem some bits of glue fall out.
Step 5: Repeat Step 4 as many times as you like. This could be your final step if you so choose, but I personally like to add some soap to a jar with warm water and let my soap-filled doll head sit there overnight.
Step 6: Wash inside and outside the head again and rinse. You’re probably going to see more glue bits pour out. If you feel the hair is still too tacky and gooey you can repeat Steps 2-6 again.
Step 7 (Optional): Once you feel satisfied with the amount of degreasing you’ve done you can rinse out the inside of the head with alcohol. While I can’t prove it, I feel that rinsing with alcohol (isopropyl or denatured) helps seize the deterioration of the glue and help remove the citrus oils further from the plastic. Again, this is just my hypothesis. Anyway, doing this will probably yield out more glue gunk from the head.
Step 8: After a few good alcohol rinses, wash the doll’s hair with your soap or shampoo of choice. Make sure to also wash the face and exposed plastic to remove oil or glue debris. Rinse with cool water. Apply conditioner if desired and rinse again with cool water.
Step 9: Towel dry your doll head and give the hair a good brush through. Hair should be easy to brush without feeling sticky. It may smell a bit like citrus, petroleum, and rubbing alcohol but that should air out eventually. Your doll head should be much easier to squeeze at the scalp area.
Step 10 (Optional): I like to add some cornstarch inside the head just for good measure. Feel free to leave out this step.
And you’re done! I really hope this process, although long and tedious, helps you out with your oily and icky doll hair problems. Cheers!
tldr; Spray Goo Gone inside head and rinse really really well.
*I have tried this procedure numerous times on light colored dolls such as Skelita from Monster High (Mattel) and Duchess from Ever After High (Mattel). I tried it on a Hasbro My Little Pony figure but it did stain the plastic. Please test out on a bait doll before proceeding on your prized dolls.
WARNING: Satisfaction not guaranteed. I am not responsible for any damages that may occur to your doll such as staining* or loss of doll hair if you follow these instructions. Please proceed at your own risk.
Materials:
- Doll head(s)
- Goo Gone
- Degreasing soap (ex: Dawn or Palm Olive)
- Water
- Jar
- Time
- Alcohol (either Isopropyl or Denatured)
- Cornstarch
Step 1: If you haven’t removed your doll head now is the time to do so. You can soften the plastic either by warm water or a hair dryer on a warm setting.
Step 2: Apply some Goo Gone on the hair and massage through the sticky spots. Then apply some Goo Gone inside the head. Try to massage it in by squeezing the doll head if you can, or swish it around with a Q-Tip/ cotton swab.
Step 3: Let it sit for a bit to soften the glue inside.
Step 4: Rinse out the excess Goo Gone and wash the head with soap. Make sure you pour some soap and warm water inside the head cavity as well. Cover the hole with your thumb and give it a good shake! Pour out the greasy soapy water. You may seem some bits of glue fall out.
Step 5: Repeat Step 4 as many times as you like. This could be your final step if you so choose, but I personally like to add some soap to a jar with warm water and let my soap-filled doll head sit there overnight.
Step 6: Wash inside and outside the head again and rinse. You’re probably going to see more glue bits pour out. If you feel the hair is still too tacky and gooey you can repeat Steps 2-6 again.
Step 7 (Optional): Once you feel satisfied with the amount of degreasing you’ve done you can rinse out the inside of the head with alcohol. While I can’t prove it, I feel that rinsing with alcohol (isopropyl or denatured) helps seize the deterioration of the glue and help remove the citrus oils further from the plastic. Again, this is just my hypothesis. Anyway, doing this will probably yield out more glue gunk from the head.
Step 8: After a few good alcohol rinses, wash the doll’s hair with your soap or shampoo of choice. Make sure to also wash the face and exposed plastic to remove oil or glue debris. Rinse with cool water. Apply conditioner if desired and rinse again with cool water.
Step 9: Towel dry your doll head and give the hair a good brush through. Hair should be easy to brush without feeling sticky. It may smell a bit like citrus, petroleum, and rubbing alcohol but that should air out eventually. Your doll head should be much easier to squeeze at the scalp area.
Step 10 (Optional): I like to add some cornstarch inside the head just for good measure. Feel free to leave out this step.
And you’re done! I really hope this process, although long and tedious, helps you out with your oily and icky doll hair problems. Cheers!
tldr; Spray Goo Gone inside head and rinse really really well.
*I have tried this procedure numerous times on light colored dolls such as Skelita from Monster High (Mattel) and Duchess from Ever After High (Mattel). I tried it on a Hasbro My Little Pony figure but it did stain the plastic. Please test out on a bait doll before proceeding on your prized dolls.