Plasticizer leakage or just old doll legs?

[Mimic]

I bought a motley assortment of 90s' dolls a while back and ended up with this lovely gal - a 1998 Geoffrey doll! To my understanding, she was an estate sale find and is in phenomenal condition.



...Except for her legs. They're still pliable and have no age spots, but they're... super tacky. My first thought was plasticizer leakage, but they don't A. feel oily (just slightly sticky) or B. leave a residue on my hands.No condensation, either. Wiping them down with a damp cloth worked wonders. Could it just be a side effect of being in storage for so long?

It's worth mentioning to that I think her face has already leaked. It's like a rock. You could break your teeth on this thing. D

 

[Skybreeze]

Mattel dolls are very much prone to leakage as well. It comes out in several ways that are similar and the same as MLP.

Again because plastics are required to be mixed with softening agents to make toys. Often as they age these things can frequently start to separate we see this very commonly in Barbies too. They often get sticky legs that will often come with an “oily” residue that can sometimes be left behind on your fingers after handling. They also frequently get the “bleaching” on legs.

The best and easiest way to “deal” with it that I’ve found it’s to do a good cleaning of the doll. Then allow it to air dry outside on a sunny day, then leave it out in open air (inside) for a few weeks (I typically leave for about a month). If it’s going to continue to leeching then you’d already see this happening let it keep doing it’s thing and keep doing the wash monthly. Then once it’s stopped, redress the doll and put it up for display.

Here’s a Barbie I had with sticky and spotty legs.