What is doll customization?

All about the different types of doll customization and how it is different from restyling.

The short answer is that doll customization is whenever you do anything that permanently alters a doll. Of course, there are many different things that can be considered doll customization.

First of all, what is the difference between doll customization and doll restyling? Doll restyling is a non-permanent change you make to a doll, such as changing the doll's hair style or clothes. Doll customization is something that is permanent (it cannot easily be changed back). This can include things like changing the doll's hair itself, altering the doll's face paint, or even changing out the doll's eyes if they have glass eyes.

Now I know you are probably asking yourself, “is something that these dolls are made for?” In most cases, no, the companies that made the dolls did not make them with the purpose of them being customized. There are some companies and even sometimes lines of dolls that are made with customization in mind, but most of the customized dolls you see were made using processes created by the community. Here at the Dollcrafter Marketplace, we encourage collectors to tap into their creative side and try out customization. After all, there is nothing like having a one-of-a-kind doll you customized yourself!

Of all the customization processes, the easiest for a beginner to do is to swap out their doll's hair. There are two ways to do this. The first way is to reroot the doll’s hair, and the second is to rewig the doll’s hair. Rerooting involves using a special tool to place small clusters of hair strands in the doll's head so that they are “rooted.” Rewigging involves placing a premade wig on the doll's head, and many choose to glue the wig on so that it is more secure. In both instances, you will have to remove the previous hair that was on the doll’s head. In terms of which process you should use, many choose it based on the type of hair the doll comes with. For example, Barbies come with rooted hair, and American Girl dolls come with wigs. Sometimes, since rerooting is more time-consuming, collectors will choose to put a wig on a doll like a Barbie that comes with rooted hair.

The next most common process used to customize dolls is known as a repaint. This is where you remove the doll’s factory face paint and replace it with your own for a unique look. Some do not fully remove the face and opt to just change the doll's makeup. Most of the time customizers will use acetone to wipe off the face paint and reapply their own face paint using watercolor colored pencils or acrylic paints. This requires more artistic skill than changing the doll's hair, but with some practice, you might find that you have a talent for it!

Moreover, another common process many use to customize their dolls is an eye swap. This can only be done to dolls that already have glass eyes. If you wish to change the eye color on a doll that comes with their eyes as part of their face paint, you simply have to repaint their eyes to change the color. While swapping out a doll's eyes can seem daunting, many prefer it to repaints since you do not need much artistic talent. On dolls like Blythes, an eye swap is actually quite easy since they have a built-in mechanism that can easily be taken out to swap out the eyes. On dolls like American Girl or Rainbow High, it is a bit more complicated since you have to use boiling water to make the plastic of the doll’s head soft enough to pop the eyes in and out. (If you want to try this, please look up a specific tutorial for a more in-depth explanation.) Either way, there are many eye colors to choose from.

Finally, there are some other processes one may take as part of a customization process. Some may perform body modifications to the doll, adding things like wings or extra arms. Others may add blushing to the body or dye it in some way for a different skin tone.

Overall, doll customization is a great way to enhance your collection by adding a doll (or dolls) that are truly unique to you. If this all seems too daunting, you can always just try one aspect of the customization process or simply opt to restyle your doll. At the Dollcrafter Marketplace we have plenty of doll clothes that are perfect for restyles in addition to customization materials.

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