What Kinds of Dolls Have Saran Hair?

     American Character Sweet Sue (not the earliest Sweet Sues…they had floss hair, mohair and other hair fiber), Sweet Sue Sophisticate or Toni, Ideal Revlon, Deluxe Reading dolls such as Candy Fashion Doll, Sweet Janie & Sweet Rosemary, Uneeda Dollikin, etc., and other high heel vinyl fashion dolls of the 1950s to very early 1960s like those produced by Arrow, Eegee, etc. Individual Saran hair fibers are rather firm and wiry, and when all together as "hair" feel thick and springy, even on dolls who may not have much of it (like dolls with short hair like Deluxe Reading's Candy Fashion Doll or Bonnie Bride). When a doll has saran hair, it is usually rooted directly into holes on the doll's scalp. In some cases, such as some of the Sweet Sue's, the doll may have a "cap" glued onto her head with the saran fibers rooted into that rather than directly onto the scalp. Some Madame Alexander Binnie/Winnie Walkers have the same thing.

What Supplies Do I Need?

     Go to Walmart to the hair section and get some perm end papers for perming hair. Buy some regular white plastic drinking straws, some bobby pins, Equate children's detangler. Have a comb with a "tail" on it on hand for sectioning off the hair, and some hair clips to hold the hair in place and away from the hair you are rolling. You'll also need a spray bottle for water or a cup of water to dip a comb into when you need to dampen her hair. Cut the plastic straws into about 1 1/2" lengths.

Get Comfortable…

     You know, trying to write in words how to roll up doll's hair has got to be the most complicated procedure! It's almost as hard as trying to actually roll the doll's hair and get it right! I'll warn you in advance that it's going to be VERY challenging and you'll wish you had eight hands. You're going to need to find a very comfortable place to sit with back support, position the doll between your legs, and have all of your supplies on a flat surface next to you within easy reach.

How Do I Roll the Curls?

     Start at the front of her head, next to the temple. Choose a vertical section of hair. Use the holes in her head that her hair is rooted into as a helpful guide. Hold the hair straight out from her head, dampen the hair, then fold the end paper in half and put it on the lower section of the hair. Holding the end paper, smoothly slide it down the hair and over the ends of the hair. You'll want the ends of the hair to lay evenly across the end papers so the curl will come out smooth when it's dry, leave about 1/4" to 1/2" of the end paper extending past the ends of the hairs. You'll need it when you roll the hair around the "curler."

      Firmly holding the end-paper wrapped hair, wrap it around the curler. You'll wrap the end of the end paper around the curler first, making sure that it lays nice and flat across the curler, then rolling it, making sure that the hair is evenly distributed across the curler within the end paper, then keep rolling it until it's snug against her scalp. Insert the bobby pin downward, so that the open ends are at the bottom of the curler. Insert the bobby pin on the "underside" of the curler and also into a bit of the hair on the doll's scalp. This will hold the curler in place and keep it tightly in place so the curl will come out tight. Also, when you roll another curl and insert the bobby pin to hold it, pin the curl to the curl next to it. It will hold firmly in place. (It took me awhile to figure this out...I wondered why the curlers were so loose...if the curlers are loose, the curls will be too loose, too.)

     You'll probably have two rows of curls going around her entire head - one row above and one below. Keep doing the curls vertically. When I roll the curls, I roll half of the curls on one side toward the face and roll the curls on the other side of the head toward that side of the face. When you get to the middle of the back of the head, and both sections meet, one curl will be facing to the left and the other will be facing to the right. If this sounds confusing, email me for clarification.

     You can also roll her bangs. I roll them under. It's quite challenging to get the curlers to stay in place. I put a hair clip on them to hold them in place and keep them from unrolling since the hair is so short.

     By the way, take a break every now and then. Be patient, breath deeply, etc., etc. It's going to take an hour or more to do this.

How Do I Get the Curls to “Take“?

     When the dolls were in the factory getting their hair done way back when, saran hair fiber was curled using heat. So, You’re going to have to set the curls with hot water in order for the curls to stay permanently and not fall out after a couple of hours.

     Get a large saucepan, fill it almost full and bring the water almost to a boil.

     Get a large glass measuring cup (one that holds about 4 cups) out.

     Clear out your sink. Wrap the doll in a towel so when you set her on the counter she won't roll, and you can keep a grip on her.

     When the water is ready, set it in the sink. Hold the doll's head directly (six inches or more up from it is good) over the sauce pan so when you pour the water over her curls, it will run back into the saucepan.

     Dip the measuring cup into the saucepan and fill it as full as you can (make sure the measuring cup can fit into the saucepan no problem). You want the measuring cup to hold as much hot water as it can per each scoop because you'll be pouring the water over one curl for 10 to 15 seconds continuously and want the water flow to be uninterrupted (you want the hot water to stay on the same area of hair/curler for 10 to 15 seconds - if you stop the flow to dip the measuring cup for more hot water, that's an interruption in the heat working on the hair and forcing it to curl). The larger the saucepan and the more water that it holds, the longer your hot water supply will last...I ended up running out of hot water during the process of pouring it onto a curl and would have to go back and dip more out. I don't know if it does or doesn't effect whether or not the curl takes, but I don't want to find out! It takes too much work to roll her hair, then find out that the critical process of pouring the hot water over the curl to get it to set wasn't long enough. Anyway, I pour it over each curl CONTINUOUSLY for 10 to 15 seconds. The heat sets the curl.

     Actually, I go over the curl a couple of more times, too, just to make sure that it takes. I try not to pour the hot water onto the scalp, just in case it might melt it a little, but I think it would have to be a lot hotter in order to melt the vinyl. If you happen to splash some hot water on her skin every now and then, she should be ok.

     You just want to try and keep it out of her eyes. It can get trapped in there and cause clouding, so her eyes won't be clear anymore.

     I just do one section of her head at a time, start on one side by one ear and work your way around her head to the other ear.

     I think “they” recommend pouring the water over each curl for only 10 to 15 seconds at a time because it could possibly melt the straw "curlers", saran hair fibers, or plastic on the ends of the bobby pins.

Checking the Curls to See if They Actually “Curled”

     To check to see if the curls are taking, carefully unroll one just enough to see if it is curling well. If not, you've got to do it again. :) If it is "taking," then go ahead and take a smaller towel and put it over her head and gently squeeze out excess water from the curls.

     I put my dolls in the bathroom on the bathroom counter, or in the bathtub and leave them there for a few days. It takes a pretty long time for saran hair to dry that is tightly rolled. I'm not the most patient of people, so after about 3 days, I check to see how dry one of the curls is. If it is somewhat damp, I'll go ahead and carefully and very gently unroll each curl, being very careful not to pull the curl out of the curl while I'm doing it. Unrolling it is easy, getting the papers off the ends without straightening the hair on the ends is trickier since those are the most tightly curled.

     Anyway, once you get them all off, gently recurl her hair with your fingers against her head and let them air dry completely. This doesn't take long (maybe 24 hours or less).

     Now, you’re all ready to style her hair.

Practice on Old Dolls First

     Before you try anything on one of your beloved valuable dolls, try out any new techniques on an old doll first. If any damage occurs, you won’t have lost anything, plus you’ll have gained useful knowledge from any mistakes.

If you've found this guide to be helpful, please vote for it. Thank you very much for taking the time to read it.

Sincerely, Sherry