If you have a doll (or a collection of dolls), then you have probably been confronted with the problem of tangled, frizzy hair at some point. This can result from careless handling by children or from the natural wear and tear that comes from many years of use.
Whatever the case, it’s important to know how to tame and straighten a doll’s frizzy hair so that your dolls will always look their best.
How do you straighten doll hair? Doll hair, whether it’s synthetic or natural, should be kept away from heat tools and heat treatments. If you need to straighten doll hair, you can use a hair straightener at the lowest heat setting or use hot water treatment to relax the hair.
Regardless of what you use, some knowledge of safe handling of doll hair is still required because doll hair can easily be melted if you use heat tools too carelessly.
In this article, let’s take a look at how you can safely straighten doll hair, with or without heat tools.
Why Is Straightening Doll Hair Tricky?
Doll hair can be made from various materials, including wool, yarn, synthetic fibers, and even human hair.
For the purpose of this discussion, we’ll be mainly talking about synthetic doll hair since it is the trickiest to straighten, and it’s also the most popular material used for doll hair nowadays.
When you think about straightening hair, you’re probably thinking about using heat tools – like a hair straightener, to straighten out the hair in sections. However, synthetic doll hair is tricky because it is very sensitive to heat.
Various synthetic fibers will likely melt when it is exposed to high heat for longer than a few seconds, which means if you want to straighten doll hair, you will need to be very careful when using heat tools so that you don’t melt the hair.
As a general rule, you should always use the lowest heat setting when using a heat tool and only expose the hair for a few seconds to keep it from melting.
Let’s talk about two ways you can straighten doll hair below.
How To Straighten Doll Hair Using A Flat Iron
A flat iron is a useful tool for straightening doll hair because it has various heat settings, and it allows you to fully control the heat and where you want the heat to be.
Here are the steps to straighten doll hair with a flat iron:
- Step 1: Brush out tangles.
- If your doll’s hair is frizzy and tangled, chances are it still won’t look very good after straightening. Here, you should use a wide-tooth comb (or even a fork) to brush out the tangles in the hair.
- Make sure to use a clean comb and not a comb that you’re using on your hair. Oils from human hair can easily ruin synthetic hair, so you should not share a comb with the doll.
- If the hair is too tangled, you can use a detangling spray or soak the hair overnight in a solution of fabric softener and warm water, which will relax the hair and make it easier to brush out the tangles.
- If you use the softener, you should rinse the hair to remove the softener completely before moving to the next step.
- Step 2: Spray the hair with a little bit of water to dampen it lightly.
- Step 3: Iron
- Adjust your flat iron to the lowest setting.
- Lay down the doll’s hair on a flat surface, and place a thin cloth over the hair to protect it. Then, press the iron on the hair for 3 – 5 seconds. Remove the cloth to check if the hair is properly relaxed, and repeat if needed.
- You can do this in sections if the hair is too thick. You should not apply the iron for too long as it can melt the hair.
- After repeating these steps, your doll hair should be straight! You can rub a drop of baby oil into the hair to make it smooth and shiny, ready for styling.
How To Straighten Doll Hair Without A Flat Iron
If you don’t have access to a flat iron, you can still straighten doll hair with hot water. Now, this method is dangerous because you will be working with boiling water, so make sure to take caution so that you don’t burn yourself.
- Step 1: Brush out the hair to remove any tangles.
- Step 2: Boil a bottle of water.
- Step 3: Pour the water over the hair.
- This step is best done in sections so you can better control the hair and your movements. Separate the doll’s hair into 3 – 4 sections, and place one small section in a bowl.
- Then, pour the boiling water into the bowl with the hair still inside, and gently move the hair upwards and into a dry towel. This step should be done within 5 seconds so that the boiling water won’t melt the hair.
- Repeat this step for all the remaining sections as needed.
- Step 4: Cool down the hair.
- After all the hair has gone through the hot water treatment, you should set it with cold water to stop the effects of the boiling water on the hair.
- You can simply do this by rinsing the hair under cold water so that the heat dissipates completely.
- Then, place the hair in a dry towel and press out the excess water.
- Step 5: Let the hair dry.
- You should not use a hairdryer to dry the doll’s hair because the heat can damage the hair, plus it can make the doll’s hair even frizzier.
- Instead, place the doll flat on a dry towel and let the hair air-dry overnight.
- After the hair is completely dry, you can style the newly straight hair how you want it!
How To Straighten Doll Hair Using A Steamer
If you have a steamer, it can be a very effective and straightforward way to straighten out the doll’s hair. It works similarly to the first two methods, but it’s much safer for the doll’s hair.
- Step 1: Brush out the doll’s hair.
- Step 2: Steam the hair.
- Hold your steamer about 3 – 5 inches away from the doll’s hair. A steamer uses both steam and heat to straighten the hair, so you should still be careful with the heat treatment when using this method.
- Steam the hair along its length, and make sure to move continuously, so you don’t stop anywhere for more than a few seconds.
- If the hair is too thick, you can do this in sections, separating the hair into two layers so that the steam can get into all the corners of the hair.
- After a few minutes, the hair should be sufficiently relaxed and straightened.
- Step 3: Dry the hair.
- Let the hair completely air dry before you style it how you like it!
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