How to Boil Wash Doll Hair

Co-authored by Margaret Maragh and Jennifer Mueller, JD

Last Updated: November 18, 2024 References

Your doll's hair looks great right out of the box, but after repeated brushing and styling, it can start to get dirty and frizzy. If you want to make your doll's hair look as good as new, one of the easiest techniques for you to try is boil washing. While it's relatively simple, it can seem a bit intimidating if you haven't tried it before. Luckily, we've found answers to some of your most common questions about how to boil wash and style your doll's hair.

Question 1 of 11:

What kinds of doll's hair can be boil washed?

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Boil washing is most effective on Saran and Kanekalon hair. Almost all doll's hair is made with synthetic material. Saran, Kanekalon, and various forms of nylon are the most common doll's hair materials. Barbie dolls and other dolls made by Mattel usually have Saran or Kanekalon hair.^{[1]
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- Boil washing might not be completely effective for dolls with nylon hair. At the same time, it won't usually hurt the hair and might make it a little more manageable and easier to comb through.
- American Girls dolls have acrylic hair that isn't suitable for boil washing. The hair can easily melt when exposed to high temperatures.^{[2]
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Question 2 of 11:

How can I find out what my doll's hair is made of?

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Rely on the feel of the hair to figure out what type of hair it is. Hair made with Kanekalon fiber is not as shiny as Saran hair. It's soft and flowy, breaks fairly easily, and will burn if you use a straightening iron on it while it's dry.^{[3]
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Research source} Saran hair feels gummy and plastic and is usually very shiny. If you press dry Saran hair with a straightening iron, it will instantly melt.^{[4]
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Research source} Unlike either Kanekalon or Saran hair, nylon hair does not break easily. It's typically shiny and holds bright color well.^{[5]
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- If you can't tell from the feel of the hair, check the manufacturer's website. But keep in mind that larger manufacturers, such as Mattel, often use several different types of doll hair on different dolls, or even in different factories that produce the same doll.
- Vintage and porcelain dolls might have hair made from wool or other animal or human hair.^{[6]
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- Online doll collectors groups may also have information about this. But be careful before relying on any one person's assessment, even if they're a reputable collector. They might be wrong, or their experience might not apply to all dolls, even if it's the same doll produced in the same year.^{[7]
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Question 3 of 11:

What tools do I need to boil wash doll hair?

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Generally, all you need is a fine-toothed comb, a pot, and a heat source. It's a good idea to clear off a spot on the counter or in the sink in the kitchen so you have room to work, especially if you're boil washing several dolls. Lay out towels on the counter so you have space to comb the doll's hair and let them dry afterward.^{[8]
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- Get another small comb and wire brush to style your doll's hair after washing it. Don't use a brush or comb that's been used on a human head—you'll transfer oils that could damage your doll's hair.

Question 4 of 11:

How should I boil my water?

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You can boil your water on the stovetop or in the microwave. There are many different heat sources available and it doesn't really matter how you heat your water. Just use the method you're most comfortable with! Make sure the bowl or pot you use is large enough to fit the hair of all the dolls you want to boil wash.^{[9]
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- If you're boil washing the same doll more than once, or if you're boil washing a lot of dolls, replace the water each time you need to reheat it to keep it clean.

Question 5 of 11:

How long should I keep the hair in the water?

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Leave the hair in the water for a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the type of hair. If your doll has Kanekalon hair, don't stick it in the boil wash and just leave it. Instead, dip the hair gently in and out of the water several times, then let it sit for a few seconds before taking it out. For dolls with Saran hair, you can leave them in the water for a couple of minutes to let the water thoroughly soak the fiber.^{[10]
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- Prop your doll up on the side of the bowl so the hair is resting in the water if you're going to let it soak for a couple of minutes and don't want to hold the doll. It's not a good idea to submerge the entire head in water because you might get water inside.
- If your doll has high-temperature or heat-resistant hair, you might need to keep it in the water for several minutes for boil washing to work. That's okay, though, because you don't have to worry about it melting.

Question 6 of 11:

How can I get the best result from boil washing?

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Comb your doll's wet hair with a fine-tooth comb. Take the doll's hair out of the water and lay it out on a towel on the counter. Then, comb the doll's hair thoroughly from root to tip. Pay special attention to the hair near the doll's scalp, which is likely to have a lot of small tangles.^{[11]
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- Make sure you flip the doll over and comb the hair from the underside as well.
- While combing your hair, find your doll's natural hair parting and part it out the way it should be. This will make it easier for you to style later.
- After you're done with the boil-wash, dip the hair in warm water mixed with a few drops of liquid fabric softener. Comb the hair while it's in the fabric softener to make the hair softer and more manageable.^{[12]
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Question 7 of 11:

Can I blow-dry the doll's hair after washing it?

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Yes, if you alternate between warm and cool settings. When you blow-dry your doll's hair, you want to be careful not to get the hair too hot, which could damage or melt it. Continue to comb through the hair as you blow-dry it to distribute air through the hair.^{[13]
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- Combing the hair will also help remove curl. If you want to keep the curl in the hair, use a wider-tooth comb that won't pull out the curl as much.

Question 8 of 11:

Can you boil wash nylon hair?

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Yes, but boil washing alone won't always do the trick. There are different grades of nylon used to make doll hair, and some respond better to boil washing than others. It's always worth a try—if nothing else, the hair will be a little easier to comb out than it was before, although boil washing won't give nylon hair the clean shininess you'll see from Kanekalon or Saran hair.^{[14]
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- Nylon hair is used on some Bratz dolls, Disney Store dolls, Moxie Girlz, and dolls made by companies such as Play Along, Galoob, and Hasbro.

Question 9 of 11:

How many dolls can I boil wash at once?

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Start with 1 doll at a time until you get comfortable with the process. If you concentrate on 1 doll at a time, you can pay more attention to how the hair is doing in the water. Once you've got it down, you can usually do 2 or 3 dolls at the same time, unless they have a lot of hair or it's in really bad condition.^{[15]
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- This also depends on the size of the bowl or pot you're heating your water in. If you've got a larger bowl with more water, you might have room for more heads of hair—but be careful! You don't want to have so many that some are being left in too long or others are cooling down too much as you rotate between dolls.

Question 10 of 11:

Can you fix frizzy doll hair with boiling water?

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Yes, just dip the hair in the water and gently comb it. Heat your water on the stove just to boiling, then immediately remove it from the heat. Dip just your doll's hair into the water and run a comb through the tangles to straighten it out while it's in the water.^{[16]
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- Keep combing the hair until all (or at least most) of the frizz is gone. You'll likely lose a few strands of hair in the water—this is normal.
- If the boiling water doesn't fix frizz at the ends, trim the doll's hair with hair-cutting scissors to get rid of the rest of it.

Question 11 of 11:

Can I use boiling water to curl doll hair?

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Yes, use perm rods for human hair to roll it. Buy perm rods online or at your local beauty supply store—they're relatively inexpensive and will work best to curl your doll's hair. To give your doll a boiling water perm, simply roll the doll's hair in the configuration of curls you want, then dip the hair in boiling water for about 20 seconds. Leave the rods on your doll's hair until it's dried, then pop them off to uncoil the curls.^{[17]
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- If you don't like the curls, boil wash the doll's hair and comb it straight, then try again. Since you're not adding any product to the doll's hair, you can do this several times without damaging it.
- Different types of hair have different processing times and some generally hold curl better than others. Saran needs a longer processing time and won't hold curl as well. Kanekalon and nylon take curl faster and easier and also hold it longer.
- If you don't want to buy perm rods, any cylindrical object, such as a drinking straw, will potentially work. You might find it's more difficult to keep the hair secured around it, though.^{[18]
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Warnings

Avoid using heat on the hair of American Girls dolls. The acrylic of the hair is more easily damaged and might melt.^{[19]
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