I'm sure you all remember my less than glowing review of my BFC Ink doll, Gianna. I ended up listing her on eBay, and she sold a couple of weeks ago. The funny thing is, Gianna had been in my room for a while, and she started growing on me. I actually felt sad when she got her first bid, and boxing her up to ship out was a lot harder than I'd imagined it would be.
When I was in my local TJ Maxx shortly after her auction began, there was a BFC Ink Noelle doll, still in her box, for $24.99. I bought her and kept her in my house for a few days, but I finally was a good girl and took her back to the store. My AG #55 is my first priority, and the money I spent on Noelle was almost 1/4 of what I need for #55.
So, you can imagine my excitement when I found a BFC Ink Kaitlin doll at Salvation Army today for $2.50! :) Her hair was pretty wild, and some of her joints (especially her chest plate/joint) were pretty loose, but at that price, I was willing to take a chance and see what I could do with her. :)
Here are some pics of what she looked like when I got her:
She has a lovely face. I especially love her pretty green eyes. :)
As you can see, her hair needed some definite work!! :}
She had a few thin spots as well. She doesn't seem to have any missing hair...I think it's just the way it's rooted. So even if I can get her hair back to its original condition, it may still have thin patches.
Since she'd been in the thrift store, I decided it would be a good idea to wash her hair, not just do a Downy dunk. I usually use baby shampoo, but the only kind I had was an icky strawberry scent. I decided that since BFC Ink hair isn't the greatest quality anyway, I would use Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this on American Girl doll hair, since it's not as mild as baby shampoo. But since I'll most likely end up having to re-wig Kaitlin anyway, I figured it couldn't hurt to try it on her.
I rinsed Kaitlin's hair and added the shampoo, followed by the conditioner, without rinsing in between. I worked the shampoo and conditioner into a good lather, as shown in the pic below:
After the hair was nice and lathered up, I brushed through it with the wire doll brush I use for my doll projects. You can find these on eBay for about $4. I did NOT rinse the shampoo and conditioner out before I started brushing.
I continued brushing until I'd gotten as many of the tangles out as I could. This is what her hair looked like when I was done:
I rinsed the shampoo and conditioner out of her hair as completely as I could. Then I brushed it through again, and it looked like this (pardon the naked doll photo):
Her hair was actually smooth enough after the shampoo and conditioner that I decided she didn't need a Downy dunk as well. So instead, I wrapped her in a towel and hung her over the edge of my washing machine to allow her hair to dry overnight. I put a towel on the floor under her hair to catch any of the extra drips.
I'll keep you guys posted on how her hair turns out once it's dried! :)
17 comments:
I want one of those dolls so bad. :)
Good luck with Kaitlyn's hair! She really is a pretty doll.
Just so you know, I am still reading your blog, although I am a lot busier now that I'm in college! It's always a joy to read your posts!
Elaine
Don't give up, Elliebob! You never know when one will turn up. There are some on eBay that aren't too terribly expensive, too. :)
Elaine, I'm so glad you can comment now! :D It's great to hear from you. I completely understand being busy with college. Have a wonderful year! :)
Nice find and awesome price! I hope her hair turns out well. It actually looks very pretty wet.
I like these dolls too, but trying to keep my collection small because of space issues. Was disappointed with Gianna's review, so not really interested in getting her now, although I think she is beautiful.
Thanks, Bama. I think her hair is going to be okay, but she'll probably need a new wig eventually. I haven't decided if I'll keep her, or let my girls play with her, or what. She does still have some quality issues which I'll be discussing later. :)
Can't wait to see the rest of the blog. Have you decided on a name yet?
I'm still deciding whether I'll keep her original name, Kaitlin, or not. :) I'll be sure to let you know. I hope to have the rest of the post up soon. :)
She looks a lot like the Princess and Me dolls. I just got two P&M dolls for my girls, I'll let you know how they turn out.
Hi Shawna! Thanks for commenting. :) I'd never thought about it, but you're right. I do see the similarities between these dolls and the Princess and Me line, especially in the eyes.
I'd definitely be interested to hear your thoughts on the Princess and Me dolls. I've been wanting to do a review, but I haven't really had a chance to see a Princess and Me doll in person yet. ;)
She is such a lovely doll! Can't wait to see her when you are finished fixing her up! What a great price too!
Thanks, Cindy's Dollz. :)
Thanks for the useful info! (curious, what's a Downy Dunk?) I have a Britt doll, I renamed her Sophie; renaming is fun I think, makes it more personal and unique. I knew before I bought her that the hair was going to be an issue so what I've done to try to make sure it doesn't get out of control is to brush it with my brush (the ultimate detangler) which my husband bought me off an infomercial and it's worked best for my own troublesome hair. It seems to work pretty well on the doll. Also, I've massaged a pinch of coconut oil in as well after rubbing it on my hands because a colleague at work suggested it for dry damaged hair; that seems to work really well on the doll hair as well. However I kept getting the feeling that conditioner would really be needed to prevent damage because even after all my efforts it's obvious that there's a little bit of damage starting at the ends.
Hi, Stingray Jane. Thanks for commenting. :)
It sounds like you have some great ideas for Sophie's hair. I just have a couple of suggestions for you. First, using a special brush is great, but it's not the best idea to share a brush with your dolls if you're still using it on your hair. The oils from your hair can be damaging to the doll's hair.
I would also suggest using hair products for human hair on your doll's hair with caution. Doll hair is synthetic and sometimes doesn't react the same way to things as human hair does. Since the coconut oil is not specifically for human hair it should be okay, but I would definitely avoid typical hair care products, such as spray detanglers (I messed up my oldest daughter's first play doll this way). I would also suggest only using shampoo or conditioner on your doll if it has very dirty hair. Using it every once in a while should be okay, but you run the risk of damaging your doll's hair if you use it excessively, as the shampoo and conditioner is meant for human hair. Instead, I would suggest using Downy.
You asked about a Downy dunk. The Downy basically works the same way as conditioner, but it's better for the doll's hair. For more information, you can see my post about the Downy dunks I did here: http://nevergrowupdollguide.blogspot.com/2011/06/downy-dunk-party.html
In this post, I used some of my conditioner (although I THOUGHT I was using shampoo!) on one of the dolls' hair because it was dirty and I figured I couldn't do much more damage to it. I also wouldn't stress as much about BFC Ink hair since it's pretty low quality to begin with. :}
I've heard people recommend braid spray to help with tangles and flyaways. I believe you can purchase it at beauty shops. I've never personally tried this, but I've heard it has good results.
Thanks for stopping by! :)
You are so lucky! I really want a bfc ink doll but I can't find one at any thrift stores
Don't give up, Anonymous. You never know when something special will turn up. The finds I record on this blog come between lots of trips where I find absolutely nothing doll related. Keep looking! :)
I love the dolls n can't wait to buy my twin girls the collection I'm just curious on witch dolls are twin sisters??
That will be fun! :)
The twins are Aleisha and Noelle. They have tan skin, dark hair, and brown eyes and are both really pretty. :)
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