How to Fix Doll Hair Without Fabric Softener

Co-authored by Jessica Gibson

If you've had a doll for a while, its hair is probably fluffy and frizzy. Although you might have seen the popular trick of using fabric softener to smooth doll hair, don't reach for the bottle! Fabric softener contains harsh chemicals that can damage the doll's hair and make it greasy or matted. Instead, treat your doll's hair like your own and use your favorite hair products to get your doll's hair looking shiny new.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Washing Your Doll's Hair

1
Brush your doll's hair with a wire brush to remove small tangles. To make washing the hair easier, take a wire doll brush and run it through the hair starting at the ends. Work the brush up through the hair towards the doll's scalp.^{[1]
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- If you're fixing the hair on a large doll instead of a small fashion doll, brush through 1 segment of the hair at a time since you'll have more hair to work through.
2
Rinse the hair with warm water. Don't use hot or boiling water because it can damage the doll's hair. Instead, hold the doll's head under the sink and let warm water soak through the hair.^{[2]
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- If you don't want the doll's outfit to get wet, take its clothes off or wrap the doll's body in a towel before rinsing the hair.
Tip: If you're fixing a large doll's hair, don't soak the scalp or the hair may loosen and fall out.

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3
Massage shampoo or liquid soap through the hair. Squirt shampoo or soap onto the palm of your hand and rub your hands together. If you're fixing a small fashion doll, use a few drops. For a large doll, use a dime-sized amount of product. Then, rub your hands through the doll's hair, starting at the ends. Work the shampoo up through the hair, but don't massage the scalp if you're fixing a large doll.^{[3]
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- If your doll's hair isn't very dirty or you just want to give it a light wash, spritz antibacterial spray into the hair instead of shampooing it.
- The shampoo removes dirt and oil that's accumulated in the doll's hair. It also makes your doll's hair smell great!
4
Rinse out the shampoo with warm water. Hold the doll under the sink and run warm water over the hair. Rub the hair with your fingers to help the water rinse away the shampoo. Keep rinsing until you don't see soap suds.^{[4]
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- Remember to not use hot water or you could damage the hair.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Smoothing the Hair

1
Rub conditioner through the wet hair. To make your doll's hair smooth and cut back on frizz, squeeze a few drops of conditioner onto your palm. You can use double this amount if you're fixing a large doll. Rub your hands together and massage the conditioner through all of the doll's hair so the strands are coated.^{[5]
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- If you don't feel like deep-conditioning your doll's hair, spray a leave-in conditioner instead.
2
Rinse out the conditioner with warm water. Hold the doll's hair under warm running water and massage the hair to rinse out all of the conditioner. The hair should feel soft once you've finished conditioning it. If it feels slippery, keep rinsing.^{[6]
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- It's important to get all of the conditioner out of the hair or your doll's hair will be dull and more likely to clump together.
- If you used a leave-in conditioning spray, skip this step.
3
Pat the hair dry with a clean towel. Take a soft towel and gently wrap it around the doll's hair. Squeeze the towel so it absorbs most of the water from the doll's hair. Don't pull as you squeeze or you'll make the hair frizzy.^{[7]
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4
Brush the hair with a wire brush or metal toothed comb to straighten it. Take the brush or comb and start combing at the ends of the hair. Work up towards the scalp to straighten the hair and remove tangles.^{[8]
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- You can also use your fingernails to tease apart large tangles.
5
Let the hair air dry completely. The amount of time it takes for the hair to dry depends on how big your doll is. A small fashion doll should dry within a few hours, while a large doll will take up to a full day to dry.^{[9]
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Tip: Don't use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process. The dryer makes the hair frizzy and can cause it to fluff up.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Twisting the Hair into Curls

1
Divide the wet hair into vertical sections. If you're curling a fashion doll's hair, divide the hair into 5 or 6 vertical segments. If you're working with a large doll, separate the hair into as many segments as you like.^{[10]
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- Keep in mind that the more segments you make, the more curls your doll will have.
2
Wrap each section of hair around a perm rod or hair curler. Hold the end of 1 hair segment and twist it around the smallest perm rod or hair curler you have. Work the rod or curler up towards the scalp as you wrap the hair and secure it in place with a bobby pin.^{[11]
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- If you can't find small curlers or rods, wrap the hair around a straw and stick a hairpin through it to keep the hair from unrolling.
- Some hair curlers or perm rods don't need to be clamped closed, so follow the manufacturer's directions for the product you're using.
3
Spray each wrapped section with hairspray. To help the curls hold and give a little bounce to the hair, spritz the wrapped hair with inexpensive hair spray. Don't spray more than a second of hairspray or you may coat the hair with too much product.^{[12]
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- You can skip this step if you want soft, loose curls.
4
Let the hair air dry for 1 to 2 days before you remove the curlers. Set the doll aside for a few days so the hair dries completely. If you take the curlers out before the hair dries, it won't hold its curly shape.^{[13]
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Tip: Don't brush out the hair once you've taken out the curlers. Brushing curled hair causes it to fluff out and become frizzy.