Tips for AG Dolls

5 Tips and Tricks for your 

American Girl Dolls

1.  Always use a wire-wig brush.

The American Girl dolls have synthetic wig hair. Plastic bristols on synthetic hair causes static, which cause friction, and friction causes heat. Over time using plastic brushes will cause the hair to look dry and frizzy mostly towards the ends. The good news is that the AG company has a wonderful Doll Hospital which can replace the head for you.  

Make sure not to use your doll's brush on your hair or on an animal. The oils from our own hair may damage the dolls hair over time.

wavy hair - use metal pick

For wavy haired dolls you may want to use a wire pick to keep the curls nice.

curly - use finger curling

For super curly hair only use your fingers. If the super curly hair gets really frizzy, brush out all of the hair with a wire-wig brush and spray some water onto the hair.  Make sure to always start at the bottom of the hair and work your way up when brushing the dolls hair.  Then twirl parts of the hair around a pencil or your fingers.  Squeeze your hand around the hair to press the curl. Once you release the hair should go back to looking like a perfect curl.

2.  Never get the eyes or body wet.

The eyes have metal in them. If they get wet it will change the coloring of the eye(s). If the eyes do get wet by accident, lay the doll face down on a towel for a couple days.

Make sure that the body never gets wet.  This can cause mold and mildew to form in the inside of the body.

3. Never use a downy-dunk or other chemical based products on the hair. 

Keep in mind that this is not human-hair. It is nothing like our own hair. At first downy-dunking and/or other hair products may make the hair look nice temporarily, but, after awhile you will notice the the hair becomes a different texture. This is because the ingredients in these products are not suitable for plastic based hair.

4.  Never use a curling iron or a straighter on the hair. (No Heat)

Always remember that the hair is pretty much just plastic. Plastic melts. Therefore any sort of heat will cause permanent damage to the hair. The hair may look nice for a little while, but, over time the hair will start to look really frizzy.

5.  DO NOT cut the strings on the back of the neck!!

This rope is the only thing that is holding the head on. If something were to happen to these strings, the head will fall off. Make sure you are very careful when opening your new American Girl doll. I personally never use any scissors when opening the doll.  They are not packaged like Barbie. Usually, they are very easy to get out of the box without the use of scissors.

Hope these tips help to keep your dolls looking nice!