I will do my best to give you instructions on my methods of makeovers. Some of it is a lot of work and you may find you do not want to do it once you see what is involved. I do a variety of doll related customization and costuming by special request, so feel free to write me and ask.
I am always experimenting with the My Size Barbie dolls - trying things that I know most toy manufacturers would never do because it wouldn't be cost effective. I like to do try things that have not been done or incorporate features that small dolls have onto the My Size Barbie. Of course some of these things take a lot of time, patience and practice to get them just right. Like anything new... there is always a trial and error period. I keep telling myself I should take pictures of the errors so that people realize what I went through to get the wonderful end result... but I am always so glad to get it resolved, that I don't want photographic proof of the "Uh-Ohs" and "Oh Nos".
Since a lot of people email me and ask about things like coloring hair and general make over questions, I thought I would add this section.
Also, there have been a lot of questions about high heel feet and after answering the first 5 or 6 emails, I though I'd add information on that too.
I sincerely hope that eveyone viewing this site and my instructions is considerate of the fact that almost everything I do was learned on my own through great toil, lots of practice & trial and error. I am providing these instructions for the sake of people who cannot afford commisions or like to create things on their own for their own collections. If you do use my instructions, free of charge, please do so for your own collection and not to become a competitor. Thank you!
The best way to get a firm curl is by doing what is called a "boil perm". Roll the hair on perm rods with end papers - just like for a chemical perm - but you pour boiling water over it instead. For longer haired dolls, it is advisable to use either spiral perm rods or do what is called a piggy back wrap - where section of hair has 2 perm rods instead of 1. You spirally wrap from mid section to scalp on one perm rod and then use the end paper on the remaining part (the end). After it is completely rolled... have Barbie lie on the kitchen counter with her head over the sink. Heat water in a tea kettle until it starts to boil.. no longer and pour the boiling water over the perm rods. I generally put a large bowl in the sink to catch the water and then submerge her head in for some additional assurance that all of the curls have been saturated with the boiling water. After a few minutes, rinse with cold water to set the perm. Wrap her hair in a large towel to blot out most of the water. Then let ther hair dry thoroughly - like for 3 or 4 days. The longer the better. Carefully unwrap all perm rods and separate curls with your fingers or spiral back around your finger.... unless you want a smoother style. I use a comination of purple and white rods with the white (the smaller of the 2) for the ends. When you take her hair down, you can also put a hair net over her temporarily to keep everything from getting messy.
Reconditioning/Getting out Tangles and Frizz
You should probably do this before the boil perm. It will help give you smoother hair to work with. If you find it impossible to brush and comb the tangles out, try using a spray detangler. Take really small sections and be patient. I have spent up to 3 hours getting tangles out of the first MSB's hair. Use a moisturiizing shampoo and conditioner. I use Suave brand because it's not very expensive. Some people soak the doll's hair in fabric softener. I personally don't use fabric softener. I used it once and it seems like no matter how much you wash it... it still smells like Downey forever. I have heard that it may take some of the color out too. You can pour boiling water on the frizzy ends. They become like this from too much stretching (this is for the original MSB hair). Sometimes the boiling water will shrink the hair back to its original state. Other times, the hair may be a bit beyond and will require a trim.
Removing Stains
I personally like Twin Pines "Remove-Zit"... but yes it will take the paint off (but since I do a lot of repaints I was never that concerned). As far as I know you have to buy it from the manufacturer: Here is a link to their:
I have also used OXY 10 (yes.... the acne medication). It does not work as fast as Remove-Zit, but it has taken some very nasty stains out of some vintage vinyl doll faces that I thought would never come out. Actually any acne medication with 10% benzol peroxide will do this. Put it on over the stain. Let it sit for a week.... wash it off... apply another layer... do the same thing until the stain is gone. Try to keep it on the stain only and not the surrounding area. I have heard that regular vaseline will lighten discolorations... but you have to sit the doll in the sun and this is a very slow process. I don't know of any cleaner that penetrates enough to remove the stain but not harm the paint.
Removing Barbie’s Head
I really find it so much easier to work on her head if it is detached from the body. You can remove her head by heating up the area that surrounds the neck by either pouring boiling water over it or using a hot blow dryer. Either way, make sure it gets hot enough to make the vinyl flexible. As you begin to work the head off, you will want to have a flathead screwdriver handy to help pry the edges up and away from the neck bracket.
Putting the head back on
You may want to heat it up again for some flexibility. You will need to push down and rotate it with the motion kind of like when a spinning top is going to fall down. Don’t give up – you may have to press hard. You have to get the edges of the opening over the prongs on the neck bracket.
Coloring My Size Barbie's Hair
Brands that work well are Clairol Ultress and Loreal Excellence.
You need to use 2 packages of hair coloring to do a My Size Barbie who has not had a haircut and you must leave the color on for a minimum of 4 hours. This particular doll had to be colored twice (see Brunette Angel). I used Dark Mahogany and it came out with a purple cast to it. I redyed it with Loreal Excellence Soft Black and it ended up this color which is not really black... more like the darkest brown with deep auburn tones.
You have to remove her head and when you apply the hair coloring you must make sure to not get it on the face... it will stain and is harder to remove than the Rit Dye.
Carefully apply haircoloring starting with the center of her scalp and working the way out to the edges. I left the hair line for last.. completely saturated the ends... then I put her head upside down in a plastic bowl. I taped from the inside of the head opening to the edge of the bowl with duct tape in 4 directions so her head would not move. I placed the bowl somewhere it would nto be disturbed for 4 or 5 hours.
after the time has passed... rinse thoroughly and shampoo. I generally wash the dolls hair through 3 or 4 times (until the water is clear) and then condition.
Replacing Heads with Something Different
I do this all the time! I like to make my "hybrid" My Size Dolls using various styling heads. The problem is that I haven't found one single sytling head that has a neck opening that fits on a My Size Barbie body. Every one I've used... current or vintage requires cutting and sculpting. The first few I did... had to have heads that were in a fixed position. I have made my first neck backet which allows head turnijng. The difference between this bracket and the one that only holds the head on is a piece of PVC conduit which prevents the sculpting material from sticking to the original bracket... which needs to remain. The type of bracket will differ depending on the styling head you use and are all sculpted to fit the inside of the head. An example of the new bracket addition is on my MAKING OF 41" YASMIN page. Don’t bother trying to carefully remove either the Bratz or My Scene heads from their stands. You will waste an incredible amount of time. Instead, take an exacto knife and very carefully cut into the head along the outside of the plastic neck until the head comes off. Make sure to NOT cut the opening too big. It’s better to cut too small a hole and have to enlarge it incrementally. A few people that have tried this on their own have used a variety of different glues to attach their heads.
Replacement Heads for MSB
I have a few (actually several) and can do customized heads too - rerooted, restyled, repainted... I also can add rooted eyelashes, change the lips or eyelids, etc. through resculpting.
How to make High Heel Feet on My Size Barbie's body.....
I use Styrofoam as the main base and carve a foot based on a pattern I made which is approx. 1 inch smaller on all sides than the finished foot should be. I attach it to the leg where I have removed the flat foot with a 2 part plastic clay called Apoxie Sculpt. This takes 24 hours to harden. The next day I shape the styrofoam with an exacto knife to have all the curves of a foot and apply the first layer of Apoxie Sculpt to bring the foot to the size it should be. After 24 hours it can be sanded. I have a power tool by Dremel which sands, saws, cuts, drills, etc. which I used to sand it down to a smooth texture. Then on goes the next layer of Apoxie Sculpt mixed with latex paint I've mixed to match Barbie's body. This layer is thinned down with solvent to have a smoother texture. Again after another 24 hours, it can be sanded down to a smooth texture with my Dremel. Once the paint is thoroughly mixed into the sculpting product, it will retain the color even when it is sanded or drilled. Then I used another sharp sculpting tool to lightly carve the shape of toes... these are not real detailed... but wanted to add them so I could paint her toe nails.
Making of the Platform Boots (Shown on the My Size Bratz Cloe doll)
The trick is to get a boot that is fairly flat and add the platform and heel. Even though the ones I used had a slightly higher heel... what you'll need to do is make the platform addition bigger than the heel addition to even it out. I use a size 5 or 5-1/2 toddler boot. Sometimes a size 6 will work - just add a piece of foam rubber inside to take the the extra space. Make sure they have a zipper since her foot is not flexible. Buy a fairly decent quality pair of high platform flipflops with pretty hard rubber soles. I experimented with using the flater ones and layering them, but it doesn't sand or cut well because the rubber is too squishy. Draw little patterns for the top of the extension based on the size of the heel and sole areas. The part that will be fitted against the boot will be the same size as the bottom and will angle out slightly for stability (I use a hack saw and mitre box to make the angles). The bottom of the flip flop actually becomes the bottom of the boot. Cut all pieces to approximately the right height, then you will carve out the top of the extensions to fit the bottom of the heel and sole areas - usually there is a slight curve to the edges - I used my Dremel with a skinny cutting tool to carve out this area - you can use a jigsaw or scroll saw if you have one. This does not have to be exact because the Super Shoe Goo will build it up and fill it in. After everything is put together, let it dry until the next day. I used a sanding bit (medium coarsness) to smooth it all out and create curves on the edges of the platform and heels. I masked off the boot and used flat black spray paint to paint the new additions and the area where they were connected so you couldn't tell anything was added on.
Making Your Own Clothes for My Size Barbie
Keep in mind, if you doubled the size of MSB - she would be approximately 6 ft tall and have the measurements of 36-24-36. Currenly she is around 37" tall (like the height of someone who wears a toddler size 4) except her measurements are 18-12-18. I have been asked several times if you can use a toddler pattern for MSB. I suppose you can, but the measurements for a toddler size 4 are around 23-21-24... so quite a bit of adjustment is required - especially in the waist area. If you want to buy your MSB a sweater or jacket, size 12-18 months fit pretty good. Ladies knee highs make great thigh high stockings. Toddler shoes in the range of size 4.5 up to a 6 will work as long as they are fairly flat. Srips of foam rubber added inside the shoe prevent MSB's narrow feet from moving around. Simple lingerie (panties and bras) can be easily made from wide stretchy lace and some elastic.
