2014-05-29

Mattel's greasy hair problem

This doll has very greasy hair.

Once again I've managed to completely forget I have a blog. I remember I was going to post about my latest additions to the monster gang, but I'm feeling a bit uninspired at the moment. I did take a bunch of pics at least (and dumped them all on Flickr). They're a couple of CAM packs that were on sale (it was almost impossible to find a mummy that wasn't completely missmatched. And I don't know why the harpy's wings are heavy, solid slabs of plastic, but at least her shoes are awesome) plus the headless headmistress Bloodgood that I've wanted for a while, not least because of her boots which are plain and black and also fit Nefera. 

The first thing I did was take down her bun and wash the product out (somehow I don't feel like the doll is really mine unless I can do what I want with the hair). I gave her a new loosee bun that looked pretty ok, but then I discovered she had a really bad case of glue seepage. Typical.

The thing is, most of my purchases lately have been afflicted by the dreaded Mattel Glue Head Problem. First there was the thrifted Fashionistas Nikki that I had to give a reroot. Didi I mention the A&T cheerleader Ken I got a couple of months ago? Sticky glue-y hair. (At least his was short.) Then I got a thrift store Rapunzel a couple of weeks ago, and of course as soon as I washed her, her scalp started seeping glue. Oh, and Raven Queen? Sticky. Even Nefera, whose box 'do  I've never touched, is starting to feel a bit sticky... 

I know that washing the hair makes the glue problem worse, but sometimes you have to (like with thrift store dolls). And honestly I have a really hard time accepting that a kids' toy made of vinyl and plastic shouldn't be able to withstand cleaning?! If they were made of rice paper or something I could understand, but this is just ridiculous. 


So I've been debating with myself what to do about this. I not keen on rerooting EVERYTHING, but what options do I have? Someone mentioned using degreaser intended for bike chains (I think?), so I guess that's one option, although I have to wonder how that would affect the vinyl. 

Then there's this trick where you basically fill the head with talcum powder:
http://nocturna-fangor.tumblr.com/post/66085991848/solution-to-the-monster-high-greasy-hair-glue-seepage
 I'm trying it on Rapunzel (and I felt more like an ancient Egyptian enbalmer than ever) but I've been lazy and haven't gotten around to brushing the powder out of her hair yet so I can't say if it's working. The head doesn't seem to be leaking powder, at least. 


...so that was my rant for today. 


24 comments:

  1. I got glue problem with my handicap Lagoona- I dry-washed her hair with baby powder (be generous), left her for night then wash her hair in cold wated (COLD). It looks better and feel better, not sure if it's temporary...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tried your method since brushing the powder out took ages. We'll see how it worked as soon as she's dry...

      Delete
  2. That's disappointing. I've actually been looking at picking up a few Ever After High dolls, but I don't want to have to deal with all those issues. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From what I understand t's more of a general Mattel problem, so no reason to avoid EAH in particular. :) I've heard dolls manufactured in Indonesia tend to be worse, and the ones made in China are supposed to have less glue, so you could try to find one of those.

      Delete
    2. Right now EAH would be the only line I want. I never got into MH, and as a Barbie collector for years, I'm in a good place with those right now. "Less glue" doesn't sound very promising, but if I decide I still want an EAH doll or two, I'll take your advice.

      Delete
  3. I'm refraining from buying new dolls altogether because of this problem. Talcum didn't help in my case(s) and it was a pain to brush and wash out of the hair. Some Russian people I know clean it from the inside with toluol solutions (like the 646 solvent, but it contains acetone, so it will ruin the makeup if it gets on the face). I managed to clean the hair with a stain remover. There's my blog post about the grease war updated with the link to the Russian forum: http://multicrafteral.blogspot.com/2013/10/gloo-hair-mystery-solved-started.html
    If you decide to read the forum, I can help you translate the most important parts. The lady who wrote the posts took the glue for analysis and soon she'll be writing another way to clean it based on the chemical composition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the tip, that sounds really interesting actually. I'd be very interested in hearing what the analysis shows (although I'm no chemist and probably won't understand half of it!). In the meantime I'll see how the powder works out, and perhaps try your method if I can find a suitable stain remover.

      Delete
    2. She just posted the update. They weren't able to identify the exact composition, but it's definitely NOT a silicone compound as presumed earlier and most likely it's a type of phenol-formaldehyde resin. If it sounds scary, it's because both parts of that are very poisonous. Since resins are 3-part compounds, one tiny miscalculation can screw up the whole batch which results in either of the three ingredients leaking from heads. She sticks by her recommendation to clean the inside of the head with xylene (U-Pol, doesn't affect the makeup) or toluene (646 solvent, wipes the face clean if not careful). You can clean just the hair, but the glue inside the head is enough to provide you with trouble for a lifetime. The hair glue can be cleaned like any resin, simply by scrubbing a lot with any cleaning solution, like dish soap. For increased effect, she recommends adding a soluble abrasive like salt. Leaving any solution on won't do anything about the grease, it's the scrubbing that does the trick. At least that's what she wrote. She's an engineer and her daughter is a chemist. They successfully cleaned many heads in this manner.

      Delete
    3. Whoa. That sounds pretty worrying actually, particularly since these are toys we're talking about... But if it's so easy to mess up the formula and cause the components to start seeping out, wouldn't they do somethig about it if it's dangerous? At least I want to think so, particularly since the problem is easy to spot.

      Delete
    4. The engineer lady was asking herself the same thing. I wonder why they started using this thing in the first place. I bought a used MH from the glueless era from a kid and the hair stays on perfectly well.

      Delete
  4. Your post made me go and check my Nefera doll whose hair I haven't touched either. However,my doll's hair feels fine so maybe it's not all Neferas. Thanks for the info though, I may need it in the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's hope your Nefera is unaffected. :) Mine only has a hint of stickiness, although I haven't dared to take her hair down to check what it's like closer to the scalp...

      Delete
  5. Thanks for sharing this information, Anderson's All-Purpose. I'll factor that problem in when I consider buying Mattel fashion dolls.

    I thought someone had started an online petition to Mattel about the glue-head problem. Do you recall seeing that petition? Does anyone recall the url to it? Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Did you see BlackKitty's comment above? Her method is probably better than the one I found, plus she had some interesting info about the glue.

      I did find the petition but it seems to have closed without many signatures: https://www.change.org/petitions/mattel-stop-using-glue-in-the-manufacturing-of-dolls

      Delete
    2. Alas, yes, the petition closed. Maybe someone will re-start it or submit a new one? I've pinned your post, BlackKitty's and some others to a Pinterest board titled. #NoMoreGlueHeads.

      Here's to more people informing Mattel about this problem. Get them to stop it. Wishing and hoping, anyway ;-)

      Delete
    3. Maybe it's time for a new one? Or a letter-writing campaign? I don't know what's more likely to have an impact.
      Thanks for the pin, although I wish I had some actual advice to offer instead of just complaining! :)

      Delete
  6. I've heard that tea tree oil can be used to treat the stickiness/glue problem, but haven't tried it myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have. It didn't help by itself, but some smelly stain remover afterwards cleaned both the oil and the stickiness. Other oils or the stain remover alone didn't help.

      Delete
  7. °Hello!
    I had the same greasy hair problem with Lagoona Blue (MH). As I opened the box, I saw that the box had some greasy stain on it from the doll's hair. I used the nail polish remover to fix this, it helped, it really helped. Only be careful, it can damage the face of the doll. I put the nail polish remover on a cotton pad (generously) and dampened and rubbed the doll's hair and scalp section by section. The I simply washed the hair 2-3 times. Now it's so beautiful!.

    Julia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's interesting! As I understood it, nail polish remover wouldn't work for dissolving the goo. Might work for a temporary fix, though? Either way, thanks for sharing.

      Delete
    2. Hello again!
      It's been some time since I saved like that the hair of Lagoona, and I can say- today the hair are just as clean as they were on September 20 (when I wrote my advice). So the solution is quite good.
      I've tried the same with Draculaura and Abbey, but their hair get greasy quite quickly again. The nail polish remover kind of dissolves that glue on the hair, but of course it doesn't work for the inside of the dolls' head. So yes -it is temporary. Just repeat, repeat, repeat all the work with nail polish remover and a cotton pad as soon as the hair becomes greasy.

      But still- the dolls are quite expensive, so why on earth Mattel keeps using this stupid glue !? I expect more quality for that price.

      Julia

      Delete
    3. That might be worth trying - and if t works on the hair, maybe using it inside the head might have some effect too? I agree, though - Mattel really shouldn't be using that glue in the first place.

      Delete
  8. Hey. I solved this problem with regular soap for clother, or dove bar. Had it on Abbey. Just needed to repeat the cleaning about 10+ times and to leave her in soap for some time. Did help completely, no grease at all since :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, I missed your comment. That's interesting - I've googled Dove bar soap and I'm only getting hand soaps, but you mean a laundry bar soap, right? If anyone else has tried this, please let me know. I'm wondering whether the glue would start seeping out again and you'd have to redo the whole thing later.

      Someone on tumblr had some luck dissolving the head glue using Boreal Citrus Wonder, but it's only available in Canada so...

      http://dolldirt.tumblr.com/post/144230253821/boreal-citrus-wonder

      https://andersonsallpurpose.tumblr.com/post/144369211311/dolldirt-andersonsallpurpose-dolldirt

      Delete