Like any other project your gonna need a few supplies. Here
are the items I use when rooting hair.
1. A donor head.
Doe'snt matter if it's a fresh head or one you're replacing hair on. This reroot style should
work on any vinyl action figure / doll head.
2. New Hair.
There are a few places the sell doll hair online. I use either saran hair or nylon. I personally
would'nt mess with the hair you get at craft stores. From what I understand its mostly made for babydolls and porcelain dolls.
Also, I would'nt waste time with hair extensions you can get at beauty stores. By the time you mess with preping the hair
you could have finished your project. I've only bought hair from one place. Dollyhair.com
Tina Amantula has a very good product. I will say sometimes her customer service needs help.
But for being a one man band I ca'nt hold it against her.
The only other place I've heard great reveiws of is Restoredoll.
I've never done business with restoredoll, but a very good friend gives them high reveiws.
3. A good pair of sewing scissors.
Doll hair is basically thick synthetic thread. It will wear out a cheap pair of scissors quick.
Go to a fabric store and get a good pair of scissors. You'll be glad you did (watch for sales, we get ours when they're 50%
off at JoAnn Fabrics).
4. An soft sculpture needle (it's like 4 inches long).
This is the big needle you use to pull hair through the hole into the head. They come in packs
of two (again, we watch for sales on the notions wall, but they are available online, too). Do'nt loose the second! you might
need it. I have broken needles rooting hair on a fresh head. There's nothing worse than breaking a needle in the middle of
the night and only having a few more plugs of hair to finish,
talk about frustrating.
5. A bottle of Fray Check.
I use Fray Check on my knots so they wou'nt come lose. Fray check is basically a type of glue.
Seamtresses use it to keep hems from fraying hense the name.
6. A straight pin.
Fray check has a bad habbit of clogging up when your working with it like this. So I keep
a straight pin close by to keep the bottle tip clear.
7. Kleenex
I always have problems getting to much Fray Check on my knots. If I do'nt soak part of it
off it will show up on the root of the hair. You can wash it off but that tends to be a pain. So I always keep a kleenex at
hand to soak the extra Fray Check off my knots.
8. Paper Towels
I use paper towel a couple of different ways. First, I use it to hold the old hair once I've
cut it off the head. This keeps it all together and keeps the mess down. Second, I lay my new hair on a clean non-printed
white paper towel when I first take it out of the ziplock bag it comes in. This helps keep it clean and some what controlled.
Just like the stuff on your head, doll hair tends to have a mind of it's own sometimes and
will get away from you. I pull off two paper towels and fold my new hair up inside it, then put the towels inside a large
ziplock bag till I'm ready to work on it. Having the two towels also gives me a clean place to lay plugs while I work.
9. A pair of forceps. I use forceps to pull the old hair out of the head. It's a good idea
to get as much of the old hair out as possible. One, you have to clear the holes out. Two, you do'nt have old hair getting
in your way as you pull the new hair through.
Do'nt worry if you do'nt understand some of the terms I'm using. I'll explain while
we go.
