Turning Barbies into Natural Hair Dolls | Black Girl with Long Hair Black Girl with Long Hair | Natural Hair Styles and Natural Hair Care

11 August 2011 ~ 74 Comments

Turning Barbies into Natural Hair Dolls

by NikG of Beads, Braids, & Beyond

I was so excited to try the Natural Hair for Dolls Tutorial that I went out yesterday and bought a couple of straight haired So In Style Barbie Dolls. I did it a little differently than Kristl but all methods produce beautiful results. A absolutely loves all her new dolls!

Below are the two dolls I purchased. Grace (blue dress) and Chandra (white tee). I bought them both at Walmart. Grace was almost $8 and Chandra was almost $12.


Pipe cleaners in

I started by parting off a small section of hair. I wrapped the end of the pipe cleaner around the section of hair near the roots so it would stay put. I then rolled the hair on to the pipe cleaner. I left a little space inbetween as I rolled the hair on. Once I got to the ends I folded the pipe cleaner over the ends then wrapped it around once or twice and cut the remainder of the pipe cleaner off. I continued this process for about 40 minutes to an hour until I was finished. I then dipped her hair into a pot of boiling water for a 10 count,as Kristl mentions in her tutorial. I left the pipecleaners in overnight. I removed them in the A.M. and separated her curls. I cut all the straight ends off.


Pipe cleaners in/the back


After removing the pipe cleaners


The back after removing the pipe cleaners


Separated the curls and viola! Big hair!


The back

For Chandra, I knew I wanted a different curl pattern, so I did the same exact process as above, only I parted off much larger sections so she didn’t have anywhere near as many pipe cleaners in her hair. After dipping her hair into a pot of boiling water I only left them in for about 3 hours, removed the pipe cleaners and separated the curls.


Pipe cleaners in


And out


Separated


Grace and Chandra after their makeovers.

I LOVE this!! What are your thoughts ladies? For those of you who have young children will you be giving this a try?
And check out Beads, Braids and Beyond for more natural haircare tips for kids!

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74 Responses to “Turning Barbies into Natural Hair Dolls”

  1. Angie 11 August 2011 at 10:45 am Permalink

    This is cute. I love it. I have a son, but if I did have daughters I would so do this!

    • Raena 11 August 2011 at 5:41 pm Permalink

      I am impressed! If I knew how to do this to my dolls 15 years ago, I might have had less of a “Straight hair” complex. The dolls look amazing with textured hair!

  2. vonnie 11 August 2011 at 10:54 am Permalink

    what a great idea! so cute, they look adorable

    Vonnie of Socialitedreams.com

  3. anon 11 August 2011 at 10:54 am Permalink

    Saw this on curlynikki – It’s a good idea and good for future reference. I really wanted to ask though:

    As a child if I wet the Barbie doll’s head, the hair would dry frizzy and untouchable. Does that happen with this process?

  4. E.A. 11 August 2011 at 10:57 am Permalink

    I think this is one of the neatest projects I’ve seen on BGLH :). Makes me wish I was a little girl again!

  5. sosoulful0125 11 August 2011 at 11:31 am Permalink

    Love the options, gives little girls someone they can idetify with, when I was growing up the only options I had was to cut the dolls hair into style to create options….lol

  6. Jade 11 August 2011 at 11:37 am Permalink

    This is so cool! I Had about 7 black barbies, 1 Theresa doll, and a blonde barbie. I feel bad that the blonde barbie’s hair lacked color, so I used a blue marker to make her beautiful. lol

  7. Sam 11 August 2011 at 11:42 am Permalink

    Awww. I love this idea. I wish I had a Barbie like that growing up. It was soo difficult to find a black barbie…. :c)

  8. serenissima 11 August 2011 at 12:16 pm Permalink

    WOW! that is amazing

    http://sartorialme.blogspot.com

  9. Larissa 11 August 2011 at 12:20 pm Permalink

    It*s so great.
    I will do it 100 % !!!
    I have a boy and a girl and both play with dolls, why not ;)
    Where I live i never saw black dolls with natural hair. Even Black dolls with straight hair are hard to get.
    I cant wait to make it for may children

    • John 13 August 2011 at 9:56 pm Permalink

      You really shouldn’t let your boy play with dolls. Give him a ball and send him outside!!!!!!

      • Carolyn 15 August 2011 at 4:30 am Permalink

        Let a person parent the way they wish. Your comment is unbelievably rude and harmful.

      • Imani 12 October 2011 at 3:02 pm Permalink

        John

        I respectfully disagree with your comments as an early childhood educator and former preschool teacher many boys play with dolls in the dramatic play area and act out roles of mothers and fathers. It is a myth that understanding how to care for a baby even if it is a doll has an adverse effect on boys.

  10. Crittle 11 August 2011 at 12:27 pm Permalink

    I really like it. In my childhood, I had melted many a Barbie doll head trying to curl their hair. I’ve hair to remember this for the future.

  11. Kesha 11 August 2011 at 1:04 pm Permalink

    This is great! I don’t have children, but I have a niece and my girlfriends girls too. I am a big kid at heart and I will be doing this. Looks like fun! I hope I get good results. I have a small black Barbie collection, (remember those Asha dolls)? I will get some new straight hair black dolls to try this on soon. Thanks for the project.

  12. boho.barbie 11 August 2011 at 1:09 pm Permalink

    makes me wish i was a little girl or had one! lol

  13. Jenny Baker 11 August 2011 at 1:19 pm Permalink

    Love them…love them….love them!!!…wish these dolls were around when I was a kid. Need to purchase some for my nieces. Live in the UK so please email purchasing details.

  14. kels 11 August 2011 at 1:54 pm Permalink

    What an amazing idea!! Now I can get my niece an American Girl doll for her birthday!

  15. Rachel 11 August 2011 at 2:05 pm Permalink

    Brilliant !

  16. Moni 11 August 2011 at 2:19 pm Permalink

    Super cute! I’ll definitely try this out when I have kids!

  17. Dasia 11 August 2011 at 2:24 pm Permalink

    Omg that is soo cute! I don’t have children but, this makes me wanna go out and buy some dolls.

  18. Adeyinka 11 August 2011 at 2:38 pm Permalink

    Great idea! I would love to share one with my 5 year old sister and I think I want one for myself too!

  19. Royalle 11 August 2011 at 2:41 pm Permalink

    My daughter has outgrown dolls…I want one for myself! If only my hair were this easy to style! FANTASTIC IDEA!

  20. Andrea 11 August 2011 at 3:24 pm Permalink

    This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!!!! I know this is for pure enjoyment but this touches on a deeper issue in that many young girls are psychologically impacted and insecure at a young age because they do not see many representations of themselves in movies, books, advertisements, and yes… even toys such as dolls! When I was younger back in the ’80′s my mom would color the kids’ faces brown on the cover of board games and the like so they could look like me! (ridiculous when I think about it) But I’m so happy we have found one fun way to manipulate the images little girls are seeing so they can see beauty in their own likeness.

    Thanks for this! Definately doing this when/if I have a daughter in the future!

  21. Miss Glamtastic 11 August 2011 at 3:38 pm Permalink

    This is too cute! I still love Barbie and I can’t wait to buy a few so I can try this :)

  22. sybil 11 August 2011 at 3:49 pm Permalink

    I love love love this. Can you come do my hair LOL!

  23. amber 11 August 2011 at 3:58 pm Permalink

    I really like it. I guess my only question is can it go back to straight? If you can go back and forth whever you wanted, that would be really cool. But I know we are dealing with synthetic fibers here, so I was just unsure of that possibly.

  24. Monzi 11 August 2011 at 4:13 pm Permalink

    This is amazing! I wish I knew about this when I was younger!

    BTW, when I saw the image with the doll and the pipe cleaners still
    in her hair, I thought it was a style. I said to myself:
    “UH-OH….Barbie goin’ to a Carribean Carnival!” LOL =^^=

  25. Bethany 11 August 2011 at 4:54 pm Permalink

    That is absolutely perfect! If I have girls in the future I’ll be doing that to their dolls’ hair!

  26. Jordan 11 August 2011 at 4:58 pm Permalink

    OMG! I wish I had a young girl for whom i could “naturalize” barbies!

  27. Dolores 11 August 2011 at 5:00 pm Permalink

    Rare opportunity to show off some of my collectibles! I customized the hair on some of these by sewing in new hair and cutting and styling it.

    [img]http://bglhonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Barbie Model Muse Pics 024.jpg[/img]
    [img]http://bglhonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Barbie Model Muse Pics 006.jpg[/img]
    [img]http://bglhonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Barbie Model Muse Pics 018.jpg[/img]
    [img]http://bglhonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Barbie Model Muse Pics 017.jpg[/img]

    • Aptlife 12 August 2011 at 6:52 am Permalink

      Love this too! Now that I see that consumers are able to permanently changing the hair to reflect natural hair styles, I’m a bit upset that the companies couldn’t hook their dolls with a natural style vs straight hair as well. :sigh:

      • Dolores 12 August 2011 at 9:57 am Permalink

        Actually, more of the collectibles have kinky and curly hair. The “playlines” (dolls intended for children) tend to have straight hair. But you’re right, I think the dolls marketed to children should reflect more natural hair styles.

    • Zipporah 12 August 2011 at 7:44 am Permalink

      These are beautiful!!! I remember growing up wanting my hair to look like my dolls hair and how much of an influence my barbies had on me and I would love for my daughters to have natural dolls and love their hair and their dolls’ hair. Love it!!!

    • nubiahbella 13 August 2011 at 2:41 am Permalink

      Loving the hairstyles and the outfits lol!

      If it was possible, I will buy yours without hesitation.

    • Nikki 15 August 2011 at 11:25 am Permalink

      Do you sell them after you customize them? If so, I’m interested. :)

  28. Krystal 11 August 2011 at 6:01 pm Permalink

    Brilliant! Her creativity knows no bounds.

  29. Jai 11 August 2011 at 6:46 pm Permalink

    @NikG, you are a genius!!! I love the pic of your daughter with her barbies in the convertible, sooooo cute!!!

  30. DeeMajors 11 August 2011 at 6:56 pm Permalink

    We did this when I was little with Blue Magic and Barrettes!!! It never failed! :) But that is a fantastic idea!!! :)

  31. Mara 11 August 2011 at 7:34 pm Permalink

    Barbies with a twist out. I LOVE IT! It makes me wanna go out and buy dolls all over again. lol
    Great pics and cool tip!

  32. Laura 11 August 2011 at 11:09 pm Permalink

    Those look really awesome!

  33. BlaqueInfinite 11 August 2011 at 11:40 pm Permalink

    These are cute!

  34. zyaran 12 August 2011 at 12:59 pm Permalink

    Those dolls came out looking really good, who would have thought to do that :). Keep up the good work.

  35. Jocelyn 12 August 2011 at 1:53 pm Permalink

    I know what my nieces and cousins are getting for Christmas

  36. mishrey216 12 August 2011 at 9:54 pm Permalink

    I’m loving these dolls!!! My 12 year old has been trying to get her hair that way. She will love doing that to her dolls.

    You Go Girl!!

  37. Miss_Bilguissa 13 August 2011 at 4:54 am Permalink

    That’s amazing!!Thanks for the tips. I wish I could even have black dolls as a kid because as Black French, there were no black dolls or barbies on the market when I was a little girl so I remember having white dolls either doing braids or cutting their hair and putting products to make their hair kinky lol…I even remember putting the foundation of my mom in their face!!! That’s why it’s really important for next generation to have good future reference looking like themselves and make them feel proud! Love it love it!!! Xxx

  38. bambiix2 13 August 2011 at 1:58 pm Permalink

    LOVE

  39. Ms. Sassy 13 August 2011 at 10:45 pm Permalink

    Wow! Adorable. I don’t a have a little girl but I have the urge to go buy one and try it myself lol

  40. The Notorious ZAG 14 August 2011 at 1:07 am Permalink

    I have a 2 year old niece who I will definitely be doing this for! As a kid, I used to braid my Barbies’ hair and put black rubber bands on the end. How exciting to find a new hairdo!

  41. Shell 14 August 2011 at 11:20 am Permalink

    I love this. If I have a little girl, I’m going to do this.

  42. Pamela 20 August 2011 at 10:48 am Permalink

    So awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m a white girl with curls and I am soooo doing this to one! LOL!!! Awesome!!!!!!

  43. Moniforae 25 August 2011 at 12:24 am Permalink

    YES YES YES!!!!

  44. Mr. C 25 August 2011 at 11:07 am Permalink

    this is greatness. my daughter will love this

  45. Takeda 8 October 2011 at 1:18 am Permalink

    this is so cute i want to go buy black barbies and try this out

  46. Kris 25 October 2011 at 12:14 pm Permalink

    I was jst about to spend $60+ to get 2 natural barbies for my nieces for Christmas, now I will do it myself, thanks so much!

  47. Alicia 28 October 2011 at 10:08 am Permalink

    I love it!!!

    I’m a white girl and wish I had known to do this to my white Barbies back in the day! I love this hairstyle, especially when it’s shoulder length. :D

  48. Arviette 28 October 2011 at 6:30 pm Permalink

    I love love love this!!!!!! My youngest says she’s gonna try this with her big doll head….

  49. Lisa 30 October 2011 at 12:15 pm Permalink

    Thank you, thank you, thank you! Best idea ever! Now all of my daughter’s dolls will have kinky hair. Very important. Love you for this!

  50. Parker Francis 31 October 2011 at 6:10 pm Permalink

    Wow!!! Sister,

    I was surfing the net promoting my business and I saw this!!! I am impressed. You are truly a beautiful Sister and worthy, because to take the time to create a way to change the style of the hair of, well….barbie doll so that it could reflect more of who we are as a people and then share it with all of us is… LOVE, God Bless you. I have two beautiful little Princesses this is “PRICELESS”
    thanks,


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