Lotion Treatment
for Filthy Dolls

Most of the time I work with vintage dolls and it seems that many of them have never been cleaned in their 35 or 45 years of existence. Baby Face dolls are another story - their 1991 vinyl seems to attract and hold grime.

I have worked with some very dirty dolls, which is the best way to learn what works.

The first thing I do when bathing dirty dolls is rub them all over with lotion or hair conditioner. I intentionally buy cheap body lotion at rummage sales or dollar stores for this purpose. I rub it all over the vinyl and skip the hair.

Since I'm usually washing many dolls at a time, I rub them down and let two or three of them sit around with lotion on while I'm washing others. The lotion helps loosen up grime that is deep in the vinyl pores. This makes it easier to get the doll clean when it is her turn for a scrubbing. Lotion is good for vinyl, too. The oil helps restore moisture to the vinyl.