Is cheap shampoo or fabric softener better for fixing dry frizzy pony hair?

[Purpleglasses]

I recently got a Ringlet with really DRY hair. I want it to feel silky again! The conditioner I tried (just my regular L’Oréal Elvive) didn’t do much to soften the  texture. I also tried the standard process of moistening the hair, coating it in a thick layer of conditioner, and running it through my flat iron on the lowest setting, but it didn’t seem to help much. The ends were still pretty kinked. 

I did some research to look for a treatment that might work better. I have heard that cheaper shampoos (one thread specifically mentioned Pantene) have ingredients that coat hair strands and leave them looking shiny but don’t really penetrate the hair follicle, and that this ingredient is helpful to treating dry pony hair. I’m guessing it’s some kind of silicone but I’m not sure.

On that note, I have heard people recommend fabric softener over conditioner for doll hair, since it’s nylon, and the things that make conditioner work for human hair don’t apply to plastic hair. BUT, I have heard really mixed things about fabric softener.  Imreadydollparts on Tumblr recently tried to fix a bunch of g3’s whose hair had been treated with undiluted fabric softener (and then coated in baby powder once that got sticky) and she said they were waxy, stinky, and that it was pretty much impossible to remove the nasty fabric softener residue from their hair. I hear that diluting the softener A LOT is key to avoiding this, but is it even good for plastic hair at all?

In short, can I please hear some of your stories about using both methods? I don’t want to damage my ponies long term. I feel like what I’ve tried so far is missing a step, and I want to know what it is. If diluting the fabric softener and washing the hair well with strong detergent after is the way to go, I’d love to know!

Thank you in advance!

[SunPony]

I can't comment on fabric softener, but I always use Pantene Pro-v conditioner to wash pony hair, the "smooth and sleek" version.  I've had pretty good success with it as far as making the hair feel very nice, but it isn't a miracle worker and if the ends are rough/kinked up they will still be kinked.  But the hair will FEEL nicer/smoother.  I don't usually use shampoo at all, I just go direct to the conditioner after first rinsing the hair in warm water.  I don't have a flat iron, so my go-to for dealing with kinked hair/rough hair is to try the boil method, which has been somewhat successful.

I did recently get a pair of newborn twins with the DRIEST hair.  It felt like touching the desert.  My conditioner helped noticeably but there is still something off about them, I wonder if they were singed or something.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I have used both conditioner as well as fabric softener to detangle and style hair.

Fabric softener is not a magical solution. I find that it is worse than conditioner with detangling. I don't find it to be any better than conditioner at all. I used it diluted, but using it undiluted and then failing to rinse it all out would definitely cause the hair to have a residue. I think it tended to leave a slight residue regardless.

My favorite conditioner is Mane n Tail. I find that it leaves ponies especially soft, even without having to soak in it. I would try to attack the hair again with very, very small strands and lots of patience. Leave conditioner in after the fact, and then rinse it after letting it sit for a bit.

[Leave a Whisper]

I use Tressemme

[Purpleglasses]

Thank you all for your insights! I think giving the hair a conditioner soak with one (or several) of the products you suggested sounds like a good next step, and I’m intrigued by the idea of leaving the conditioner in for a while after I’ve heat treated it.

I figure, if all else fails…I can order her some new hair to make her a nice silky tail from, and keep the original tail in a bag with her name on it in case I ever sell her. When I popped her head off she had a zip tie instead of a washer, so she’s clearly belonged to a collector before! I’m confident I can get her looking nice, even if I can’t make her hair feel lovely. But I’m not ready to give up just yet!

[Eskara1862]

Sometimes, it just takes several goes at conditioner and flat ironing to get all the kinks out. I've had ponies I've worked on four or five times before they finally were acceptable! And, yeah, I always use Pantene ProV Sleek and Shiny (or smooth and sleek?) on my ponies. Sometimes, I'll put the conditioner in and set the ponies aside for a few days until I decide to get around to flat ironing them. Leaving the conditioner in won't hurt the hair at all.

[BlackCurtains]

I use VO5, if you want to talk about cheap I always slather the conditioner in and then flat iron. The above is right too, sometimes it takes a few tries.

[Toilandtrouble123]

I'm very interested in this thread for my newly acquired Megan and Molly.

I did think about just rehairing them whilst they were in transit, but I've found I can't get their heads off.

So people use a flat iron whilst the conditioner is still in the hair?

[tailrustedtealeaf]

So people use a flat iron whilst the conditioner is still in the hair?

Yep, the conditioner is to protect the hair from becoming too hot or melting from direct contact with the iron. It also makes the hair feel nicer. Always start low, and work your way up to a temperature that works for your doll! I usually go until I can hear a sizzle from the water on the hair.

[Toilandtrouble123]

Hear a sizzle?! Jeez that would freak me out! 

Thanks, shall give it a go at the weekend!

[Eskara1862]

Hear a sizzle?! Jeez that would freak me out! 

Thanks, shall give it a go at the weekend!

Yeah. Sizzle like dropping water on a skillet is fine. Crackle like frying bacon is too hot!

[Toilandtrouble123]

Hear a sizzle?! Jeez that would freak me out! 

Thanks, shall give it a go at the weekend!

Yeah. Sizzle like dropping water on a skillet is fine. Crackle like frying bacon is too hot!

Well I chickened out of using my straightener and went with the boiling method - microwaving a bowl of water to boil, then dunking the mane of my custom to straighten the kinks out of the hair.  There was a slight "crimped" wave in the delta poly hair I got from Emporium.  The boiling method helped the hair, but also caused the acrylic paint to come off one ear, even though I was careful not to get the paintwork wet!

Am now wondering if anyone has used conditioner for synthetic wigs, and whether it's worth buying?

Found this one on Amazon for instance:

ps://smile.amazon.co.uk/Salon-Control-Conditioner-Synthetic-Human/dp/B084D8DTST/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1912R4IN9SCB1&keywords=nylon+conditioner&qid=1645109727&sprefix=nylon+conditioner%2Caps%2C58&sr=8-6

[LadyMoondancer]

I also use Pantene Sleek and Shiny (or whatever the exact phrase is), lol!  I've never tried fabric softener so I can't comment on that aspect.

[TimeDance]

I use just Suave shampoo and it's worked just fine. Recently washed the hair of a Sugarberry that was so dry it made that crinkle sound to the touch. Just left the hair in conditioner for a while and it helped so much.

I have not used a flat iron on hair before. My sister gave me a box of ponies with hair she insisted I either fix or rehair. Some of the ponies she said she tried to fix with a flat iron and I did not like the result. I don't know exactly what she did to them, but  the hair was pretty damaged.

[Snapdragon]

I have treated several ponies with fabric softener, being told that it was the 'best treatment' for pony hair, but it never seemed to do the trick for my ponies. The hair was like, smother to the touch? But still crunchy and thick. So I gave up (after wasting like half a bottle of the stuff!) and went back to conditioner.

Then I read on a pony restoration post that fabric softener is actually a very fine/liquid-soluable kind of wax, and it adheres to clothes to make them "softer" to the touch - but for pony hair, it'll just gum it up, and it's almost impossible to remove! OH NO!! So now I have to prepare myself emotionally for the day I go through my collection and find my now waxy-haired ponies...

Am I a pony hair expert? No! But that scared me enough to never use it again! So for that reason, I recommend human conditioner (I use Suave, which is the cheapest where I am!), and if the hair is nigh-unsalvageable, try either boiling water dunks or human hair tools! I mean, if it's destroyed anyway, it can't hurt to risk burning it, right? I've also been trying to flat-iron on dry hair, which shows how much I know about pony hair maintenance beyond washing...