Doll Hair Repair Gone Wrong

I am a newbie to doll repair.  Everything is brand new to me.  This new hobby of mine will be a lot of trial and error lol.

I have been working on fixing Rapunzel's hair.  When I got Rapunzel her hair was dirty, had marker ink in it, and was matted.

Recap of Rapunzel:

1. Thrift Store Rescue doll
2. Washed and combed out her hair
3. Tried the "Downy Dunk"
4. Attempted to "Boil Wash" her hair......

Boil Washing:

Dipping the dolls hair in hot water is supposed to soften and straighten the hair.  There are a lot of tutorials online about how to do it.

I decided to give it a try.  I boiled some water and dipped Rapunzel's hair.  You are only supposed to dip it for a second and take it out of the water right away.  I dipped for a second or so longer than recommended.....

I accidentally melted and fried some of her hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Picture after washing Rapunzel's hair

Picture during and after "Downy Dunk"

Pictures after "Boil Washing"

And a picture after her hair dried.......

Maybe Rapunzel will get re-wigged after all? Hmmmmm.....? LOL

Disney Animators Rapunzel Toddler Doll Rescue

This is a work in progress...

I decided to check out my local Goodwill and came across this doll.  I decided to rescue her.  This is my very first doll rescue.  She had marker ink on her face and in her hair.  Her hair is a tangled mess. I have not rescued a doll before and was worried about her hair having something weird in it.  I inspected her hair at the store really well before buying her. I didn't find anything so I bought her. I placed a plastic bag over her head and then sealed her in another plastic bag and placed her in the trunk of my car.  I took her out after a few days and placed her outside in the sun, and when I felt satisfied I brought her in the house.  I took her straight to the bathroom and went to work washing her.  I used baby shampoo on her hair and a ton of hair conditioner.  I used a soft toothbrush and the baby soap on her skin too.  The ink came right up from her skin and hair!

Her hair was a huge tangle of knots.  I used a brush and decided to take a section at a time and work my brush through it.  Her hair still looked fuzzy and rough.

Marker Ink in her hair!

Close up of the Marker Ink in her hair

Pictures above are before her bath.  Pictures below are after.  She cleaned up fairly well. But her hair was still very rough and dry.

I decided to attempt the "Downy Dunk" on her hair.  It is where you place the doll in fabric softener for up to 24 hours to try and soften and smooth the hair.

I decided to use the entire small bottle of fabric softener. My house was starting to smell like Downy it was really strong.  Rapunzel's ends were blue and I got worried the Downy was going to dye her hair blue!!!! I decided not to soak her hair for the recommended 24 hours. In a panic I placed her underneath the faucet and rinsed out all the fabric softener.  Then I brushed her hair and set her out to dry. 

(After rinsing the downy out of her hair.  It looks better but I am still not 100% satisfied with her yet.)

I am thinking about buying a doll wig and trying to re-wig her hair.  I am also on the lookout for a new outfit to put her in because the one she came in was pretty torn and beat up.  You can tell she was very well "loved" and played with.  

I am just learning about trying to fix up dolls so $1.99 is not a bad price for a doll to learn with.

****I will make another post when I do more with her.