Hair Experiments with American Girl Dolls
After designing my Retro Holiday Dress pattern, I thought it would be a great idea to curl Samantha's hair like Courtney's, combining their eras. I found a tutorial on Pixie Faire that explains exactly how to do it, using perm rods, hot water heated to 165 degrees, and an ice water rinse.
I used 11 perm rods. Blaire's previous owner must have brushed her hair quite a bit, pulling some of it out, as it was very thin. I started from the bottom and sectioned it off.
Once the water reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit, I turned off the heat and moved the pot off the burner. I dipped the head in the water, being careful not to get it in the eyes, and making sure I got every perm rod. I didn't remove the head from the body, as the tutorial suggested. I held the hair in the water for about 10-15 seconds, then dipped it in ice water, and patted it with a dry towel.
While I was waiting for her hair to dry a little bit, Samantha arrived. She was in excellent condition. Even her hair was soft. She just needed a quick wipe-down. I washed her hair with synthetic wig shampoo and conditioner. Then I went back to Blaire.
Blaire's hair wasn't dry all the way, but when I took her perm rods out, the curls were way too defined for what I wanted for Blaire. I wanted her original, big, wavy curls, yet these were spiral curls just like Courtney's. I thought that by using fewer perm rods, they wouldn't be so defined. But thinking back, her hair was thin and dry, which could have contributed to the result. Don't get me wrong--Blaire is adorable with these ringlets, but it's not what I wanted.
I did some research and found that if I relaxed the curls, they should be good. So I dipped the hair back in the hot water. At this point, the water had cooled to 100 degrees. I turned the stove back on to heat it up, continuing to dip the hair. With each dunk, the curls were more relaxed. When the water reached 120 degrees, I felt that the curls were relaxed enough, so I turned off the stove. I patted her hair with a towel and then gently brushed and shaped the curls. Wow! So beautiful! Just perfect.
Nonetheless, the curls came out perfect! I used a metal wire brush to twist them to make them more like ringlets. It took much longer for her hair to dry than Blaire's. I think it was partly because Blaire's hair was thinner and partly because it was pretty dry (as in damaged) compared to Sam's.
Can we just talk about BeForever Sam for a second? I originally was going to purchase her when she was available on the AG site, but because others didn't recommend her, I passed her up and when they came out with the Special Edition Sam, I purchased her instead. I wish I had purchased BeForever Sam instead. She has the sweetest face! And her coloring is so much better. Special Edition Sam lacks color. I even added a bit so she didn't look so pale.
Now with ringlets, she's even more adorable, as though she was meant for them.
Be sure to follow me on my AG Instagram page: @agdolldiana
I used perm rods from Walmart, size 15.3mm (pink).
I found a preowned BeForever Samantha doll on eBay for $30. What a deal! While I was waiting for her arrival, I decided to practice on Blaire. I had straightened her hair before because it was dry and frizzy. Since then, I had wanted to restore her curls, but wasn't sure how. So I followed the same instructions.
Here’s Blaire’s straight hair:
I sprayed her hair as I went. I cut napkins to size and wrapped them around the ends of the hair to keep them straight. I rolled the hair from the bottom up, turning it under. Once in a while, I had to redo it and the curl was already starting to set. I could have just left them in until they dried and probably would have had a good result. But I really wanted to try this other method to permanently set the curl.
I found a preowned BeForever Samantha doll on eBay for $30. What a deal! While I was waiting for her arrival, I decided to practice on Blaire. I had straightened her hair before because it was dry and frizzy. Since then, I had wanted to restore her curls, but wasn't sure how. So I followed the same instructions.
Here’s Blaire’s straight hair:
I sprayed her hair as I went. I cut napkins to size and wrapped them around the ends of the hair to keep them straight. I rolled the hair from the bottom up, turning it under. Once in a while, I had to redo it and the curl was already starting to set. I could have just left them in until they dried and probably would have had a good result. But I really wanted to try this other method to permanently set the curl.
I used 11 perm rods. Blaire's previous owner must have brushed her hair quite a bit, pulling some of it out, as it was very thin. I started from the bottom and sectioned it off.
Once the water reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit, I turned off the heat and moved the pot off the burner. I dipped the head in the water, being careful not to get it in the eyes, and making sure I got every perm rod. I didn't remove the head from the body, as the tutorial suggested. I held the hair in the water for about 10-15 seconds, then dipped it in ice water, and patted it with a dry towel.
While I was waiting for her hair to dry a little bit, Samantha arrived. She was in excellent condition. Even her hair was soft. She just needed a quick wipe-down. I washed her hair with synthetic wig shampoo and conditioner. Then I went back to Blaire.
Blaire's hair wasn't dry all the way, but when I took her perm rods out, the curls were way too defined for what I wanted for Blaire. I wanted her original, big, wavy curls, yet these were spiral curls just like Courtney's. I thought that by using fewer perm rods, they wouldn't be so defined. But thinking back, her hair was thin and dry, which could have contributed to the result. Don't get me wrong--Blaire is adorable with these ringlets, but it's not what I wanted.
I did some research and found that if I relaxed the curls, they should be good. So I dipped the hair back in the hot water. At this point, the water had cooled to 100 degrees. I turned the stove back on to heat it up, continuing to dip the hair. With each dunk, the curls were more relaxed. When the water reached 120 degrees, I felt that the curls were relaxed enough, so I turned off the stove. I patted her hair with a towel and then gently brushed and shaped the curls. Wow! So beautiful! Just perfect.
(Blaire on bottom, Lila on top.)
Now back to Samantha. Here are her before pictures:
Her hair is quite a bit thicker than Blaire's. I used 23 perm rods. I wrapped the hair nearly the same as Blaire's, except I gradually rotated the curler so that they were vertical.
Once finished, since there were so many perm rods, her head barely fit in the pot, so I ended up pouring water over the hair, using a mug filled with the 165-degree water. I think I should have left them in the hot water a little longer. When I removed the perm rods, the curls weren't as tight as Blaire's.
Now back to Samantha. Here are her before pictures:
Her hair is quite a bit thicker than Blaire's. I used 23 perm rods. I wrapped the hair nearly the same as Blaire's, except I gradually rotated the curler so that they were vertical.
Once finished, since there were so many perm rods, her head barely fit in the pot, so I ended up pouring water over the hair, using a mug filled with the 165-degree water. I think I should have left them in the hot water a little longer. When I removed the perm rods, the curls weren't as tight as Blaire's.
Nonetheless, the curls came out perfect! I used a metal wire brush to twist them to make them more like ringlets. It took much longer for her hair to dry than Blaire's. I think it was partly because Blaire's hair was thinner and partly because it was pretty dry (as in damaged) compared to Sam's.
Can we just talk about BeForever Sam for a second? I originally was going to purchase her when she was available on the AG site, but because others didn't recommend her, I passed her up and when they came out with the Special Edition Sam, I purchased her instead. I wish I had purchased BeForever Sam instead. She has the sweetest face! And her coloring is so much better. Special Edition Sam lacks color. I even added a bit so she didn't look so pale.
Now with ringlets, she's even more adorable, as though she was meant for them.
Be sure to follow me on my AG Instagram page: @agdolldiana