Thanks to Dorothy for these instructions. She has been doing doll repair for years, and is an expert. I tried it on a Deanna Durbin wig, and it turned out great.
First consideration, is the cap strong and is the hair NOT rotten. Remove the wig as carefully as you can. Take out all pins and any other things that are there. Fill a bowl with cool water and add some Woolite or baby shampoo. Shake the wig to free it of as must dust as you can and then dip it into the bowl holding it by the center . Dip it up and down until it is good and soaked. Leave it in soak and lifting it up and down every so often. Do not disturb the wig anymore than necessary. After it soaks awhile, dump the water and rinse it in a fresh bowl. Continue the rinse until the water is clear. Next , fill the bowl with fresh water and add a conditioner . Dip the wig in the bowl. Squeeze the wig getting most of the water out and then lay it onto a clean towel and roll it in the towel. While the wig is still damp , put it on a ball or anything of the size of the doll's head. Try combing it some while it is still damp so it won't dry in a matted condition. You can be more direct after it dries. When dry, you can then glue it back on the doll., (A drop on the front, ,back and a drop over each ear should be enough. It is easy to style it on the doll. Comb small sections at a time. I use rollers for perms and using endpapers. When you have a piece combed out, wet the end paper and wrap the end of the hair and roll it. After all the hair is rolled, take a damp rag and touch all the rollers to get all the hair damp. DO NOT get the compo damp. You can blow dry if you like. When ready, gently remove the rollers trying to keep it in the rolled shape . You can gently arrange the curls with your fingers the way you like. I usually leave the rollers in over night. If the hair and cap are in good condition , the finished job should be great. This works for human hair, mohair, or synthetic, but never use regular shampoo for plastic hair. It takes forever to rinse. On all wigs, it is best to use a conditioner. You will lose a little bit of hair when you comb it. You can save it to patch other wigs that are sparse. If you scrub the hair like you do your own hair, you run the risk of felting it. Then it won’t comb out very well. Just remember to dip it up and down in the water, keeping the fibers separated as much as possible
One thing, this info is about composition and bisque dolls only. Hard plastic and rooted hair dolls would not apply. You should wash their wigs while still on the doll. The hard plastic doll wigs are glued on with a special glue that is made to wash while on the doll. If you try to remove a Toni doll wig you will tear it up. The Ideal Toy Co. spent a lot of time and research to develop a glue that would not come off while the child washed and styled it. The Md. Alexander Cissy and other hard plastics were trying for the same thing, but were not as good as Ideal, and therefor some have come off. I have had to reglue a lot of Cissys and other hard plastics because the glue failed..R&B s wigs seem to hold fairly well. If you don't know the difference between hard plastic and composition, make sure of the material before you wash.
First consideration, is the cap strong and is the hair NOT rotten. Remove the wig as carefully as you can. Take out all pins and any other things that are there. Fill a bowl with cool water and add some Woolite or baby shampoo. Shake the wig to free it of as must dust as you can and then dip it into the bowl holding it by the center . Dip it up and down until it is good and soaked. Leave it in soak and lifting it up and down every so often. Do not disturb the wig anymore than necessary. After it soaks awhile, dump the water and rinse it in a fresh bowl. Continue the rinse until the water is clear. Next , fill the bowl with fresh water and add a conditioner . Dip the wig in the bowl. Squeeze the wig getting most of the water out and then lay it onto a clean towel and roll it in the towel. While the wig is still damp , put it on a ball or anything of the size of the doll's head. Try combing it some while it is still damp so it won't dry in a matted condition. You can be more direct after it dries. When dry, you can then glue it back on the doll., (A drop on the front, ,back and a drop over each ear should be enough. It is easy to style it on the doll. Comb small sections at a time. I use rollers for perms and using endpapers. When you have a piece combed out, wet the end paper and wrap the end of the hair and roll it. After all the hair is rolled, take a damp rag and touch all the rollers to get all the hair damp. DO NOT get the compo damp. You can blow dry if you like. When ready, gently remove the rollers trying to keep it in the rolled shape . You can gently arrange the curls with your fingers the way you like. I usually leave the rollers in over night. If the hair and cap are in good condition , the finished job should be great. This works for human hair, mohair, or synthetic, but never use regular shampoo for plastic hair. It takes forever to rinse. On all wigs, it is best to use a conditioner. You will lose a little bit of hair when you comb it. You can save it to patch other wigs that are sparse. If you scrub the hair like you do your own hair, you run the risk of felting it. Then it won’t comb out very well. Just remember to dip it up and down in the water, keeping the fibers separated as much as possible
One thing, this info is about composition and bisque dolls only. Hard plastic and rooted hair dolls would not apply. You should wash their wigs while still on the doll. The hard plastic doll wigs are glued on with a special glue that is made to wash while on the doll. If you try to remove a Toni doll wig you will tear it up. The Ideal Toy Co. spent a lot of time and research to develop a glue that would not come off while the child washed and styled it. The Md. Alexander Cissy and other hard plastics were trying for the same thing, but were not as good as Ideal, and therefor some have come off. I have had to reglue a lot of Cissys and other hard plastics because the glue failed..R&B s wigs seem to hold fairly well. If you don't know the difference between hard plastic and composition, make sure of the material before you wash.
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