Solution to the Monster High Greasy Hair / Glue Seepage Problem
Hi everyone,
After trying every method to deal with the persitent glue-seepage problem, I have finally arrived at one solution that seems to work. I can’t take credit for this, because I read about it somewhere, but unfortunately I can’t remember where I got it from. I’m sharing it here, because I know that many of you are fed up with the greasy residue left behind by the glue. This is what I do:
1) I don’t bother washing the hair. The hot water simply melts more of the leaky glue and I haven’t found a detergent that successfully deals with the grease.
2) I remove the doll’s head and rub talcum powder or baby powder all over the scalp, working it in until all the excess oil has been absorbed. If any of you have used dry shampoo - it’s much the same process.
3) Leaving the talcum powder in the hair, I then make a simple funnel out of a piece of paper and completely fill the head with talcum powder. I then replace the head on the body.
4) I then brush and brush and brush the hair until all the talcum powder has been brushed out. The result is totally grease-free, full-bodied, flowing hair. Yay! :-)
Some extra notes:
* Rubbing talcum powder through the scalp is a great temporary solution, but the glue will continue to seep unless you fill the head with the powder too. Filling the head seems to stabilise the glue. The excess powder keeps absorbing the grease from inside the head, where the seepage originates.
* This works best on dolls with pale or pastel hair - Lagoona, Ghoulia, Rochelle, especially Frankie because her hair is already gray. If you have enough patience to keep brushing until all the powder is removed from the outside, you can also get good results with dark haired dolls. I have successfully degreased my Picture Day Cleo in this way.
* The other methods I have tried included removing the glue from inside the head using a crochet hook, but this did not work because too much of doll’s hair came out with it and I ended up getting a wig for her.
* Tea tree oil is good at removing the grease from the surface, but it doesn’t stabilise the glue inside the head. It also leaves the doll smelling strongly of tea tree oil. It’s not a bad smell, but it’s not pleasant. Talcum powder / baby powder smell so much nicer.
* I have also tried Goo-Gone and a variety of detergents and clafirifying shampoos. I have had varying success, but at best this was a temporary fix because the glue kept on leaking from inside the head, even if I washed the hair completely clean.
* I hope this helps everyone whose MH collection is slowly being destroyed by glue seepage. It certainly helped me! It will also work for other dolls. I have tried it on some greasy-haired Barbie Fashionistas and they look so much better now.
Good luck! :-)
So, the original post is incredibly out of date and the only reason I haven’t deleted my reblog of it it is so that when I see people reblog it from me without the additional posts sharing the newer information, I can reblog from them with the updated technique
Basically, the talc/cornstarch/baby powder methods only treat the surface of glue seepage, and the glue that remains inside the head will continue to seep out over time.
Tiffy did a lot of experiments to figure out how to treat the glue itself, and found that a cleaning product called LA’s Totally Awesome will neutralize the glue, meaning it will no longer continue to seep out of the head over time.
I may have figured this out a whole 2 years ago (please see that post for the results and a few warnings), but it was brought to my attentio
Immediate results aren’t always the best indicator of success, so I’ve still been at it with the LA’s Totally Awesome. I’ve spent about $5 o
There is also a specialty cleaner called Triton X-114 that does a very good job of neutralizing the glue if you follow the directions closely
A nonionic surfactant with multiple applications. Also known as Octylphenoxypoly (ethoxyethanol). Sold in 1 ounce (30 ml), pint (500 millil
I have used both methods and successfully got rid of the glue seepage while not harming the original doll paint (custom paint did not fare so well)
