Hair Conditioner
or Fabric Softener

Doll's hair is not like people's hair. I think it's more difficult to work with.

Don't overwork doll hair or it loses texture and shine. The less you do the better. I don't shampoo unless it really needs it. When I do shampoo a doll I use something very mild and only enough soap to get the job done. Sometimes I just spray a little 409 cleaner on the hair (because it's mild) and then rinse with the spray hose on the kitchen sink. This way I can shampoo a doll without messing up the original curls and even this much is sufficient if the hair is only a bit dusty.

Hair conditioner helps to restore soft texture to doll hair. So does fabric softener. You don't need very much, and be sure to rinse thoroughly or the doll's hair will look greasy.

If the doll's hair is long or badly tangled then I leave the conditioner or fabric softener in the hair while I comb it. This can make the hair much, much easier to comb through when it's a bad mess. When the hair is untangled, then I rinse it well.

My favorite new discovery is spray on conditioner. You can leave this in the doll's hair. I spray it on wet hair before I start combing. Or, if the doll hair only needs a little smoothing or rearranging, I use the spray on conditioner to get the hair damp or wet. It's fast, the spray is good for the doll hair and combing the doll is much easier.

Now, I only use the creme conditioners for dolls with damaged hair. Otherwise I use the conditioner spray for most dolls.