G4 Hair Question

[SugarLoop]

So I've been restoring my G4 collection and have come across many different hair qualities when washing them. Some are fine and look great after, and some are so frizzy and horrible you can't get a brush through. It's generally not because they're played with, they just seem to have an off quality. For instance, this Rainbow Dash was sitting with conditioner in her mane for over 30 minutes and after washing it out, it was still dry and frizzy. This Twilight's mane washed great, but the tail sucked. Is there a trick for getting these smooth and shiny, or is the only option to cut off the ends? If I do, would the new ends start to frizz?

 

[Iridescent]

unfortunately you have encountered the terrors of polypropylene hair. it's a cheaper fiber that disintegrates (much!) faster than most other synthetic hairs, and tends to frizz majorly with little wear. most ponies have full nylon hair, but there are exceptions (such as your ponies above).

g4s after 2012 have polypropylene tails, but styling size/exclusive body (like glamour glow rarity) and some other random lines (such as pearlized EEs) have it for their mane as well. it was also used on a selection of g3 releases.

trimming the hair short will not be a sufficient solution long term since the fiber will refrizz if it's messed with too much. and due to its low melting point, it is difficult to iron back straight. the most reliable fix is probably rerooting - though g4s are notoriously the most difficult ponies to reroot and it may not be a viable solution anyway (physical limitations, cost, etc!).

polypropylene is discussed more surrounding g3s specifically here. though should you be curious, it's a strong topic in other doll collecting communities at the moment and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding more insight.

 

[SugarLoop]

unfortunately you have encountered the terrors of polypropylene hair. it's a cheaper fiber that disintegrates (much!) faster than most other synthetic hairs, and tends to frizz majorly with little wear. most ponies have full nylon hair, but there are exceptions (such as your ponies above).

g4s after 2012 have polypropylene tails, but styling size/exclusive body (like glamour glow rarity) and some other random lines (such as pearlized EEs) have it for their mane as well. it was also used on a selection of g3 releases.

trimming the hair short will not be a sufficient solution long term since the fiber will refrizz if it's messed with too much. and due to its low melting point, it is difficult to iron back straight. the most reliable fix is probably rerooting - though g4s are notoriously the most difficult ponies to reroot and it may not be a viable solution anyway (physical limitations, cost, etc!).

polypropylene is discussed more surrounding g3s specifically here. though should you be curious, it's a strong topic in other doll collecting communities at the moment and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding more insight.

Thank you so much for your in depth answer! I was also under the impression they were nylon, so that stinks. I've definitely heard about the horrors of poly in the monster high doll community, and that's what I was afraid of. I guess I'll have to make my peace with it and just do the best I can with what I've got. Thank you for your insight!

 

[Septima Windsong]

unfortunately you have encountered the terrors of polypropylene hair. it's a cheaper fiber that disintegrates (much!) faster than most other synthetic hairs, and tends to frizz majorly with little wear. most ponies have full nylon hair, but there are exceptions (such as your ponies above).

g4s after 2012 have polypropylene tails, but styling size/exclusive body (like glamour glow rarity) and some other random lines (such as pearlized EEs) have it for their mane as well. it was also used on a selection of g3 releases.

trimming the hair short will not be a sufficient solution long term since the fiber will refrizz if it's messed with too much. and due to its low melting point, it is difficult to iron back straight. the most reliable fix is probably rerooting - though g4s are notoriously the most difficult ponies to reroot and it may not be a viable solution anyway (physical limitations, cost, etc!).

polypropylene is discussed more surrounding g3s specifically here. though should you be curious, it's a strong topic in other doll collecting communities at the moment and you shouldn't have too much trouble finding more insight.

I also noticed that some of my G4s' hair is worse than the other's. My pearlized ponies do have polypropylene hair, it's harder to style and it easily frizzes. Besides that, pearlized G4s fade really quickly even in indirect sunlight.

 

[AzaleaArt]

If you are really really careful you can use a hair straightener to fix frizzy ends on poly hair, but if you aren’t careful enough doing it the hair can melt.
What you do is heat up the straightener, turn it off and let it cool a little but not too much (I wait about 50 seconds but it’s probably different for each straightener), and then quickly run the hair through it. I’ve had it work pretty well but I always test the cooled straightener on a piece of acrylic yarn first to make sure it won’t melt the hair.

 

[Leave a Whisper]

If you are gonna rehair, rehair in nylon. Polypropylene is pure, unadulterated crap.