What is a Good Brush for Doll Hair?

Synthetic Doll Hair

• Dolls like Barbie, Bratz, Hasbro Toys and some vintage dolls from the 1950s, have some form of synthetic hair made of materials like vinyl, saran or kanekalon.
  The best kind of brush for this type of hair is a wide-tooth metallic comb, a wig brush or a dog grooming brush with metal bristles that are free of nubs on the ends.

Yarn Doll Hair

• Dolls like Cabbage Patch Kid and Raggedy Ann and Andy-type dolls have hair made of yarn.
  You should never try to brush the yarn with anything other than a very, very wide tooth comb. Brush bristles and fine combs will separate the yard strands and fray or even tear them.
  A good comb for yarn doll hair is a wide-toothed plastic comb used for wet hair.

Human Doll Hair

• Nowadays only custom-made, very high end and antique dolls have hair made with human hair.
  This hair is very fragile, and not often threaded into the doll's head, like other forms of doll hair, but is instead made into a wig that is glued to the doll's head.
  You must be very careful when attempting to brush human hair, so as not to pull the hair from the wig base, especially if the doll is an antique.
  The best brush for human doll hair is a very soft-bristled brush. If you encounter mattes in the hair, try to first use a rat tail comb to detangle the hair, and then use the soft-bristled brush.

Mohair Doll Hair

• Like human hair dolls, dolls with mohair tresses are either antique dolls or custom-made dolls.
  The mohair, similar to the human hair, is fixed to a wig-like base, but is also slightly more delicate, and should be treated very gingerly.
  The best kind of brush to groom mohair-headed dolls is a soft-bristled toothbrush.
  Similarly to the human hair, you can also pick apart matted sections with a rat tail comb or even a hair pin, but remember to be gentle.

Wool Doll Hair

• Curly haired dolls have hair that is often made from wool, which can be the most problematic of the different doll hair types.
  When brushed it loses the curl and becomes frizzy and disheveled.
  The best way to groom wool doll hair is to use a hair pin or a metallic hair lift/pick (those things that your great-grandmother used to lift her 'set' hair) and pick through the curls very softly, so they don't lose their shape.