The Big Tease – Fixing Barbie’s Hair With Fabric Softener
We have a large population of Barbies inhabiting our basement, and there are more, who have migrated to the warmer climate of upstairs bathroom, where The Princess plays with them in her bath.
A while ago, I found a method for untangling Barbie’s hair using fabric softener on the boards. The photo on Pinterest looks like this:
So, I asked the Princess to loan me a Barbie.
Nudity censored by request of the doll’s owner.
First I put about a tablespoon of fabric softener into a plastic cup,
and then filled the cup half-way with water.
After that, Barb’s went in head-first.
After soaking for a minute or so, I used a Barbie brush to extricate the hair from the tangles.
It wasn’t a pretty process. I went from scalp to ends, so there was some carnage. Let’s just put it this way: Had Barbie been alive, there would have been bloodshed. Thankfully, she only shed acrylic strands.
And, after about five minutes of brushing, I rinsed her hair with cold water, and squeezed out the excess with a paper towel. There was a little more brushing to be done after that, but it was worth the noticeable difference.
But, Barbie’s hair wasn’t that bad to begin with. What about a real challenge? What about Rapunzel?
Rupunzel is one of the ones that is used regularly in the bathtub, and she was a real mess!
She went into the drink…
and after soaking for two or three minutes, I started to brush, though a bit more carefully at first, beginning with the ends.
But I had a real concerns about this tangle farther up that looked like squirrels could live in.
I kept brushing,
and hair kept coming out,
but in the end, she looked lovely!
Now The Princess has all her dolls lining up for a make-over. She says it’s like having new dolls.
Take a number, Jasmine.
Do you have any tips for Barbie Dolls with curly hair? Does it work all the same??
I would say it should work on curly hair. But we did have some dolls that were too matted for saving. About a year after we fixed Rapunzel’s hair, she was back for another treatment, and that time, it didn’t work, despite soaking the doll’s head for more than a day.
I have used gentle make-up remover to great success. The knock off Lancome/L’Oréal product that is sold by Equate at Walmart. I put it in a spray bottle and work it like I would my daughter’s: spraying at the bottom then comb through. I work my way up to the scalp. To remove candy or gum… use Total Makeup remover by Estee Lauder (the best make-up remover out there. I’m a make-up artist.) It is a cream. Put it in, let it set, work the candy out. Then rinse.