Pink Highlighter for Hair Dye

Almost any Baby Face Sheila who has been out of the box has faded ponies. This is just the way it is. The color is very pale to begin with and it fades out almost completely if the doll is not kept in the dark. And sometimes it even happens when the doll has been stored in her box!

One collector told me she used pink Koolaid to recolor the ponies on her Sheila. She said that the My Little Pony collectors use Koolaid colors for dye.

I have restored the pink color to my Sheila's ponies using pink magic marker type highlighter. I chose highligher because it is so resistant to Oxy10: when a doll has been marked with pink highlighter it is very difficult to get the color out again. Pink highlighter is a powerful dye.

I wrapped Sheila's head in cellophane so only the ponies were showing, and I wrapped a small rubber band tightly around the base of each pony right at the roots - so ink cannot back up under the cellophane. I also wrap the doll in a towel to protect her all over. Then I color the ponies with pink highlighter marker. I prefer to use a new marker that has lots of ink in it and flows easily.

I color the ponytails a LOT, going over the hair again and again and again. I put white paper underneath the ponies while I do this and fan the hairs out so I don't miss any of them. The ponies will look very very pink but don't worry, most of this washes out later on.

I allow the marker to dry for a couple of weeks so the color sets. Yes, I wait WEEKS so the color will set in. If you rinse too soon (such as the next day), then all the color washes out but it you wait, you will get results.

After waiting a good long time, then rinse the ponies carefully so the water does not back up under the cellophane or get onto her blonde hair. Rinse a lot, with very warm water and shampoo. The pink marker has a lot of oil in it and the oil never dries completely so you will see a lot of pink color washing out of the hair. Rinse until the water has run clear for a long time.

Then let her hair dry overnight and the next morning you can style. The ponies will be pink again. In fact, they might be a tad bit darker than original but it is a very pretty color and it should last a long time. I think that marker color is possibly more stable than pink RIT dye. That's why I use it instead.

The first time I tried this, I did a second coat (repeated the process)... but I don't think this is necessary because the ponies did get very pink after the 2nd coat -- and Sheila is supposed to be pale pink. Personally, I like my bright pink Sheila. She is the one in the photo, above.

As with all my refurbishing tricks it's always at your own risk but I think this is fairly easy to do.