Below are some fun customizing tips. I can't take credit for coming up with them all, as I have combined much information - mostly found on the web. This will be a living document, so if you have something to add please e-mail me at original_p@geocities.com. A special thanks goes to Sherry Rhine. Sher has taught me a great deal about customizing in the short time I've been playing.
Hair Make Overs
Water Perms: Many items may be used as curlers. You can use bobby pins, straws, coffee stirrers, short and thin perm rods, and even tiny rags. Below are several items you can use for curlers as well as several methods of boiling/perming.
Tools: In addition to the curlers listed below, it might be a good idea to have the following items on hand:
Small brush or rat tail comb
Curler Types and Usage:
Perm/End Papers - Perm papers are available at the local beauty supply. Cut in half so you have two chunky squares. When using the papers dampen and wrap in half or thirds around the end of the hair.
Regular straws - Cut to 1 to .5 inch in length. Using setting gel and a perm paper, roll hair onto straw. Use a straight pin to set it into place. Go ahead and stick it right into Miss B's scalp (but don't make a dent in the hair). These make nice sized curls.
Short perm rods - These are available at your local beauty supply. Select the rods depending on the size of curl you want. Use with end papers and gel if desired.
Coffee Stirrers - these can be used to make super tight curls or long tubular curls. You can bend the tip and use them like the bobby pins. Use with end papers and gel if desired.
Pipe cleaners - cut pipe cleaner in two. Use end papers and gel if desired.
Bobby pins - place a small rubber band on the curved end of the pin. You can then use the pin like a perm rod. This makes super tiny curls. Use end papers. Use two for each curl. Take a section of hair and put the bobby pin at the top and then pull the bobby pin towards the end of the hair and then curl it up from the bottom and the use another to hold it in place. Special tip - keep a little Barbie brush or comb near by and a cup of water to dip the brush/ comb into. Making the hair a little damp helps when wrapping it around those tiny bobby pins.
Braids - Braid the entire head with the size braids of your choice. Place the braids in boiling water and treat as a boil perm. Orthodontic rubber bands work beautifully. If you know an orthodontist you might get lucky!
Boil perm: There are several methods for giving Miss B a boil perm.
Method One: In a large saucepan, boil water. Nearby have a bowl of ice water ready (large enough to dunk Miss B's head). Make sure you have a watch with a second hand! Once the water reaches a full boil, dip the head in covering all hair to be curled. Leave the hair in for NO MORE THAN 15 SECONDS. If you boil too long you'll have one frizzy headed doll! Immediately remove and place in the ice water. After about a minute remove, blot dry, and set aside until dry.
Method Two: Boil water as in method one. Place Miss B in a seated position over the sink, and pour boiling water over. Dip in ice water as above. Straightening the Hair: To straighten Miss B's hair, do method two without any curlers. Pour water in direction you want the straightening hair to lay. METHOD #1) Hold her upside down to make ponytail. METHOD #2) seated to straighten it straight down.
Curling Iron: Find one that is 3/8". A cheap one can be found at Sally's Beauty Supply for about $4. Make sure it has two settings, low and high, and always work on low. If the iron does not have two settings, make sure it is an 8-watt iron. Anything hotter than what's recommended will melt the hair - not quite the look you were going for. Take the hair in sections and curl. Be careful when removing the hair from the iron, as it may uncurl. Gently loosen the grip of the iron and slide the hair off with the aide of your fingernail or a butter knife. This way you can keep the curl in shape until it has a chance to cool. It may be easier to work while the hair is wet. A way to do this is to hot set it straight and then curl it while it is still wet. Experiment to see what works for you. A water perm is quicker (less drying time) but the curling iron will give you beautiful results.
Finishing/Setting the Hair: Freeze sprays (you name the maker) work well for locking the style in. If you do a slicked or partially slicked back style you can paint the freeze on with a paintbrush. When applying the spray, protect the doll's head, chest, and outfit with a piece of tissue. This product will leave the hair stiff.
Hairstyles: There are many, many styles you can create on Miss B. Below are just a few.
More Heat Curls: First wet Barbie's hair. Then apply a little styling gel. To get really tight, frizzy kind of curls on Barbie's head, grasp tiny sections of her hair and twirl, then twirl some more. Keep twirling it until it twirls in upon itself then secure with a rubber band. Dip her head in boiling water for about 10 or 15 seconds, then IMMEDIATELY immerse her head in ice water, as that is what sets the curl.
Twists: Twists can consist of one large twist or several/many small ones. If you begin to style and find your doll has too much hair, some of the plugs may be cut out of the center. Simply take an exacto or small scissors and trim close to the scalp. This procedure generally works best for large or single twists. Twists are usually a single tight turn or a double kinked twist that creates an irregular or worm-like appearance. Once you have the twist to the desired spot, you can secure with a rubber band. Once secured, trim off the excess hair. You can gently tuck the end under and secure with a decorative straight pin.
Braided Up-Dos: Braided up-dos are accomplished in much the same manor as the twists. Simply determine how many braids you want then arrange as desired, trim, and tuck. You can also try decorating with small pearls or beads on straight pins.
Facial Repaints: There are many ways to repaint your doll. To learn the tricks, ask lots of questions, see what other people are doing, and use your imagination to create new looks for your dolls!
Tools:
Q Tips
What type of paint to use: There are several brands/types of paint on the market. Liquitex has a great paint - it comes in little bottles. Another type is gloss craft acrylics, and the frosted colors are especially nice. Be careful of the copper/bronze paints, as rumor has it they'll turn the skin green.
Other more advanced paints are also available. Tamiya Color Acrylic Paint with Gunzo's Mr. Thinner are wonderful gloss paints. Tamiya does not work well using water as the thinner! PollyScale brand has a numerous range of colors and works well for working on vintage Barbie doll makeovers. Water can be used as thinner.
Removing old paint: Paint can be removed by using clear, unscented acetone. You may remove all or only parts of the original paint. To remove tiny sections or areas of paint, take a small amount of cotton wrapped on the sharp end of an orange wood stick dipped in acetone and carefully remove paint. If you prefer to remove all paint, dip your Q-Tip in acetone and wipe off old paint. You can remove the entire eye but leave the blush and lips. If you plan on leaving the blush, use caution when working with the acetone.
Adding new paint: The following is a description of this process as if all eye paint were removed. If you're working on a doll that still has some eye paint left, simply use the directions you need. Painting the white of the eye: Take some white acrylic paint and thin until it's the consistency of liquid eyeliner. Carefully paint where you'd like the white of the eye to be. The face molds provide good definition, but you may want to make the eye larger, wider, or smaller than was originally intended. The white should be applied in thin layers until you reach the desired opacity.
Painting the iris: Once the white is dry, begin mixing the colors for iris. Mix the darkest color first, then tone down with white. Paint the iris with the darkest color. You can paint the eyes looking forward or you can try a side-glance. Start small and increase the size of the iris until you're satisfied. One method is to go back and forth between eyes until the size and focus are correct. Once the basic iris is defined, add lighter or different colors to the iris to create the effect you want. It may help to look at factory dolls to see how they achieve different effects, or you can look at real people or pictures in magazines.
Pupil and highlights: Once the iris is dry, get some black paint and paint the pupil. Let that dry, then add white dots or slashes to duplicate reflectivity. Eyeshadow and liner: Only one rule here: Start with the eyeshadow first! You'll notice that it can be difficult to get that smoky look when applying the paint. One technique that may help is called "dry brush." To accomplish dry brush, mix your paint for the shadow and thin it. Thin it a little more than usual as it becomes easier to work with and appears more transparent. Rinse and blot your brush on the paper towel. Soak up a small amount of paint on the brush, then experiment until you get the desired results. If you find you don't like something you did, remove it with rubbing alcohol. To paint the eyeliner, get your paint to the consistency of liquid eyeliner. Some prefer a more closed eye - to achieve this - paint under the raised area on the doll's eye. Something interesting to try is placing a different color on the bottom lid- maybe even two. Don't be afraid to have your eyeliner cut off the top part of the iris - which is how it is in real life!
Eyebrows: DO NOT PAINT EYEBROWS UNTIL YOU'VE ROOTED THE LASHES!! Take a light pencil and trace where you'd like the brows to be. This saves numerous repaints! When painting, do so in a smooth, single stroke. If you need to do a touch up or add paint, wait until the first layer is completely dry. Lips: You can totally remove the old lip paint, but there is nothing more frustrating than trying to get those little lips even. You can leave it on and simply change the color.
Finishing: Try brushing Liquitex Matte Medium over the paint. This product provides a uniform finish and makes it look a little more professional!
An alternative to Matte Medium is "Aleene's Acrylic Varnish". It is stocked at Hobby Lobbys next to the cheap-0 acrylic craft paints. It come in a similar-type bottle, 4 inch tall cylinder with a screw/flip top lid. Best of all it cleans up in H20! - Thanks Michael!
Rooting Eyelashes:
Step 1. The head must be removed. By inserting the pliers in the neck hole in the back, gently stretch her head back and up until you have her neck over the hook that secures her head. It may be helpful to heat the neck area with hot tap water prior to removing head. Once the head is removed, you can also remove any factory earrings by using small scissors to clip the fish hook end of the posts. Another suggestion is cutting off the double fishhook to make it easier to remove the head in the future.
Step 2. Thread a needle with about 15 strands of doll hair. Insert the needle at the outer corner of the eye, either on or right below the eyeliner. Pull the needle out of the neck hole and remove the hairplug from the eye of the needle. Tie a knot on the plug and pull the hair plug from the other end until you feel tension. Cut the hairplug at about 1/2". Next work on the same location of the other eye. Repeat until you have a complete set of lashes. Remember that even spacing (not too close, not too far - you'll have to test yourself) and a straight line will produce the best results.
Step 3. Trim the lashes to suit your taste!
Color is the most neglected subject to study in any arts & crafts area. If you take a little time to learn the basics, you'll be well served in many areas of your creative life. The first thing to do is purchase a color wheel. These are available in art supply stores and craft centers.
Below are a few basics:
White added to a color would
lighten the color, or tint it.
If you get stuck and can't figure out which color to use refer to the wheel. If you need a color you don't have you can always mix it!
Removing Old Hair: If you have a doll you'd like to reroot, you'll have to begin with removing the old hair. To do this, remove the head (see rooting lashes) and cut all hair off close to the scalp. With a pair of needle nose pliers, carefully begin pulling the hair plugs out from inside. This can be time consuming, so be patient!
Methods of Rerooting:
Needle/Knot method: Thread a needle with about 20 strands of doll hair. Insert the needle on the outside of the scalp. Pull the needle out of the neck hole and remove the hairplug from the eye of the needle. Tie a knot on the plug and pull the hair plug from the other end until you feel tension. Cut the hairplug at about 1/2".
Punch method: To do this method - a special tool is needed. You can make a "puncher" by taking a cheap paint brush and pulling off the brush part - this leaves the handle. Take a medium size needle and clip open the eye of the needle with steel wire cutters by clipping the tip of the eye ONLY. Also clip off the tip of the needle. Take the blunted tip of the needle and glue it into the handle of the paintbrush.
You need to double over the plug of hair you are using - find the center of the length of hair and hold the hair taunt - thread this into the eye of the needle. Then insert the needle into the hole in the scalp. This can go VERY fast --- the tension from the expanding hair will anchor it into the head. This is not recommended for dolls that will be extensively restyled!
Where to find hair: Finding hair for rooting may be one of the more difficult parts of rerooting. Many times you can get hair from another doll - also called a donor doll. Some beauty supplies carry hair, and you might also try your local Asian importer. If you ask around you will find what you need. There are also several individuals in the field of customizing who sell hair. Another thing to consider is rooting your doll with a nontraditional form of hair. Many people use thread, yarn, and just about anything you can think of. Let your imagination guide you!
Rooting Patterns: One of the easiest rerooting projects is to reroot into the existing holes. The next easiest project is to reroot only the outside holes along Miss B's forehead creating a circle - then pull this into a ponytail. With the pony tail root, the inside of the scalp is purposely left empty because to root this inner circle would create too much volume for the ponytail (this is the rooting pattern for the original vintage ponytails). To learn about more complicated rooting patterns, try observing the rooting patterns on existing dolls.
Rooting a part: Rooting a part can depend on the method you are using for rerooting. 1) One of the easiest ways to do this if you are using the needle/ knot method is this: root one whole side - then when starting the other side - bring your needle down (or up whatever method you prefer) into the first side. 2) When using the push method or anchor thread method - anchor the strand of hair then divide in half - weave one side to the other so that no scalp is being shown in the part.
Adding Streaks: One of the easiest ways to make changes to your doll's hair is to add streaks. To add streaks, simply add hair plugs in the locations you wish to have a different color.
