The MLP Arena

Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Nemesis on May 16, 2018, 06:41:57 PM

Title: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Nemesis on May 16, 2018, 06:41:57 PM

I’ve been going through my G1 collection and touching up some of their issues (surface grime, chipped symbols, etc.), and now I’m ready to tackle the hair. Some ponies have pretty bad frizz, others could just use some conditioner and a boil perm.

My question is: what products are known to have the best results with MLPs? I’ve heard baby shampoos/conditioners, but is there a particular brand that’s recommended? Are there certain ingredients that should be avoided? I also need advice on what kind of anti-frizz lotion to buy for use with a straightening iron...I’ve never tried that technique, and I’m a bit nervous.  :blush:

So, what products have worked for your pony needs? :) I’d love to hear your experiences, and they don’t have to be limited to just the issues I mentioned. Detangling? Styling? Softening?

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: mewthemew on May 16, 2018, 06:56:56 PM

That blue Dawn dish-soap seems to yield pretty nice results. I've also used an off-brand baby shampoo, but after getting a tip to use dish soap instead, I never went back.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Safflower on May 16, 2018, 07:05:09 PM

I've heard wig conditioner works wonders. It is made for synthetic hair after all! I haven't tried it myself, though.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Kikwifluff on May 16, 2018, 07:53:47 PM

My personal favorite is Pantene! I only buy the giant bottle when it’s on sale, though.  :)

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Nemesis on May 16, 2018, 08:35:30 PM

Quote from: mewthemew on May 16, 2018, 06:56:56 PM

That blue Dawn dish-soap seems to yield pretty nice results. I've also used an off-brand baby shampoo, but after getting a tip to use dish soap instead, I never went back.

I love Dawn Ultra for general cleaning of ponies/dolls—that stuff is amazing! I do worry about using it too much on the hair, though... Isn’t it rather drying?

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Nonnavlis on May 16, 2018, 08:52:53 PM

I also use Pantene and have great results with it. Other shampoo doesn't seem to make the hair quite as soft and silky, though I've not tried baby shampoo specifically.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Taffeta on May 17, 2018, 12:07:18 AM

I use pantene as well - I actually have for years, largely by coincidence. I had some that was for my hair use originally, and it and my hair didn't get along, but I had some ponies who needed their hair doing so I decided to try it and see.

Unfortunately I use it so slowly that by the time the bottle ran out the type I was using is no longer on sale :/ I have a slightly different one which is good but not quite as effective. I wish manufacturers wouldn't change things up so much. I haven't found another shampoo that matches up to that one.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: kingluke on May 17, 2018, 01:33:31 AM

I used regular human conditionor, which helped to untangle the hair, but not de-frizz it.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Tulips on May 17, 2018, 02:21:28 AM

In the past I used whatever hair conditioner I had in the shower. Now I'm trying fabric softener, after seeing many people recommend it, and it seems to get as good results - if not better. No particular brand, just the cheapest/best value.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: emily_katie on May 17, 2018, 03:22:42 AM

I used my own shampoo designed for dry frizzy hair, but I mainly use that for cleaning and brightening, as it has very fine shimmer to it.
I would say that most human conditioner helps but its not designed for nylon hair  :P I would recommend soaking the hair after a good brush and clean in fabric conditioner, the type you use for clothes. It soften things up and makes your pony smell wonderful  :lovey:

If that doesn't totally sort frizz, which it usually does I use a flat iron and a water/ fabric conditioner spray to straighten the hair. Do this with a lot of caution on the lowest heat setting you can as it can melt hair if too hot and the hair isn't wet enough! 

I spray the hair wet with my water/ fabric conditioner solution and then seperate into small strands, then go over once with my straightener on about 60'C.

Spoiler

Here is an example of a before and after from using this technique!

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It makes a vast improvement, but I would be lying if I said it makes your ponies totally frizz free! Nothing is perfect after all  ^.^

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Shaiyeh on May 17, 2018, 04:02:48 AM

I agree with emily_katie's method, altho you can get good results with regular conditioner soaked in the hair while straight ironing, as well.
I'd stay away from lotion, tbh. (I'm guessing you're talking about hair lotion though, and not skin lotion?) again, like stated above, ponies have synthetic hair. I'd be careful around oils, as well, as oil and plastic don't mix awfully well over time.

Good luck! :)

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: mewthemew on May 17, 2018, 04:29:30 AM

Quote from: Nemesis on May 16, 2018, 08:35:30 PM

I love Dawn Ultra for general cleaning of ponies/dolls—that stuff is amazing! I do worry about using it too much on the hair, though... Isn’t it rather drying?

I'm not sure, actually. It seemed to work well with everyone, except my G3 butterpop, who turned out slightly greasy. Maybe I didn't get all of the soap out.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: nessa16 on May 17, 2018, 08:56:39 AM

Quote from: Safflower on May 16, 2018, 07:05:09 PM

I've heard wig conditioner works wonders. It is made for synthetic hair after all! I haven't tried it myself, though.

Aren't a lot of the higher quality wigs made from real human hair?  I could be wrong but I thought people donated hair for that or something. 

I will need to try the fabric softener method.  May even give a go to the straight iron.  I actually got a travel one on clearance at TJMaxx after Christmas that does not get hot enough to work on my own hair.  Emily_katie Ringlets looks awesome, nice work!

Anyone have ideas as to the best brush/combs to use on pony hair?  I have used a human comb and the brushes that come with them and MH dolls but no matter what I feel like the hair is always frizzier than when I started.  I always start from the ends and work my way up, just like my own long hair but doesn't seem to make a difference.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: emily_katie on May 17, 2018, 09:33:57 AM

Quote from: nessa16 on May 17, 2018, 08:56:39 AM

I will need to try the fabric softener method.  May even give a go to the straight iron.  I actually got a travel one on clearance at TJMaxx after Christmas that does not get hot enough to work on my own hair.  Emily_katie Ringlets looks awesome, nice work!

Anyone have ideas as to the best brush/combs to use on pony hair?  I have used a human comb and the brushes that come with them and MH dolls but no matter what I feel like the hair is always frizzier than when I started.  I always start from the ends and work my way up, just like my own long hair but doesn't seem to make a difference.

Thank you very much :) I use a cheap comb I got for 10p at a supermarket :P it has a fine tooth end and a end with teeth more spread out, Definitely keep starting from the ends of the hair and working up! Do you de tangle the hair wet or dry? I as a rule wet hair, clean it with soap or shampoo and then go in with a conditioner to make it slippier and easier to de tangle. Once I finish the whole process and the hair is dry I don't tend to go in once again and brush their hair, maybe run my fingers through but that's about it

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Taffeta on May 17, 2018, 09:58:28 AM

I'm probably allergic to fabric softener, I have a pretty bad reputation for clothes related chemicals and allergic reactions :/

I am not sure whether it's always necessary to go for the hardcore heat treatment etc. Sometimes they just need a wash, patience, and a careful comb out to get the same result. That Ringlets doesn't look too bad to me, just tangled. I've had several brush and grows in worse state than that and they came up really nicely just from patiently combing them out.

I just feel it's a good idea to hold off on the harder methods if there's a simpler non-invasive way of doing things. But then I also really like grooming out brush and grow hair :)

Hairspray seems to make hair go brittle. I think that's what it was but it might have been bubblebath or something else. In any case, anything that makes the hair strands go hard or stick together you run a risk of the mane breaking. I had a complete set of (probably MO) Collector Ponies that this had happened to. They came to me in an ebay lot with their hair covered in this stuff. I managed to save most of them but Cotton Candy's hair is still a little crunchy and Butterscotch's hair is now brittle and is coming away from her mane. It's sad because she's so beautiful otherwise. She has to live by my sink so she can't get rubbed against by the other ponies.

In terms of combs, I tend to use the long-handled combs that the brush and grows came with (but I did break one of these on a pony's hair once, so I now only use them sparingly for small sections of hair at a time or for less knotted hair.) In terms of brushes I mostly use Sindy or Barbie brushes as pony ones mostly suck xD.Sometimes it can help to wet the brush before grooming to prevent it flying away and getting crazy. But obviously not on curly haired ponies...

Remember, let curl dry before grooming ;) Hasbro said so ;)

It's also good to get shape back into the hair by using fingers to comb around. Fingers are really useful, especially when dealing with factory curl.

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: Nemesis on May 17, 2018, 10:57:00 AM

Thank you everyone, for all of the great suggestions! ^_^

I’ve worked with a lot of combs and brushes through the years... I used to style high-quality synthetic wigs a lot, and I quickly learned which methods were safe for maintaining them. This know-how has tranlated beautifully to caring for doll hair.

First off, save brushes as a last resort. Combs are much less damaging, and offer more control. Also, there are a whole lotta combs out there, and you should have various types on hand for different uses.

Personally, I have two steel combs (actually designed for dog grooming, lol), each with differently spaced teeth. These are handy for use in boil-straightening/de-frizzing, as the teeth are very rigid and don’t bend or soften. I also have a menagerie of plastic combs, some cheap and some higher end, in a multitude of sizes and makes. Other useful tools include flea combs, toothbrushes (great for fluffing plush!), hair-dye applicators, etc. :)

Cleaning synthetic hair is... not really my forte, though. XD Unlike ponies and dolls, most theatrical wigs will never be played with in sandboxes, bathtubs, dusty playgrounds, and sticky tables, nor smeared with fingerpaints and markers. ;)

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: heftysmurf76 on May 17, 2018, 08:46:40 PM

I want to try teh wig conditioner now!

I swear by Pantene, and even better Pantene for Women of color

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: NightGliderSA on May 18, 2018, 12:29:10 AM

I use Tresemme shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair when washing pony hair. It's worked very well. I don't like using dish soap on hair if I can help it as I find that for me it dries out the hair a lot. I do also straighten hair and for that I use the tresemme heat protective spray. It really helps compared to before when I didn't use it. I also have a fine-toothed comb handy and make sure that the hair is a straight as possible between 'runs'. I thought that TAF Milky Way's tail was unsalvageable, but washing and combing it out first and then using this method with the hair straightener made such a difference. However, I don't think it would be a good idea to leave this spray in the hair, so what I then do afterwards is wash and condition and style as usual, making sure I rinse everything out. Here are before and after. No heat was used to set the curl:

Spoiler

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Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: nessa16 on May 18, 2018, 08:51:46 AM

Good job on the tail NightGliderSA...but what's up with her horn?

Title: Re: Best hair products for ponies?
Post by: NightGliderSA on May 18, 2018, 09:06:31 AM

Her original horn was chomped, so she has had a new one moulded on top  :)