Styles and methods for re-rooting hair & different plug arrangements?

[PrincessKnight]

Hi customizers! I'm new to pony customizing, and have been having a great time pulling (g4) ponies apart and repainting them. Apart from reading a few tutorials about rerooting ponies, I'm pretty clueless about it, so it'd be awesome if you can tell me what methods work best for you, what doesn't work so well, etc. All I've done so far is put new tails in, and I know that's the easy part


Particularly though, I'd like to know what other re-rooting 'styles' you can use (standard ponies have the two parallel lines of hair, other have forelocks, etc). The standard Hasbro hair looks a little bit thin/plain, imo, so I'd like to do something a little different for my customs.

[MrsDavis]

I was curious about this, too. How do you add new holes for the plugs, a larger gauge needle or push pin maybe? And what kind of arrangements work best? Does that make sense?

[PrincessKnight]

Yes, yes! Arrangements! Plug arrangements. Thats a better word for it. I was having problems trying to describe what I was looking for.


I've done a teeny bit of testing, and pushpins ought to work, I think. The holes seem to 'close up' a lot more than the pre-existing ones, but I imagine thats because I didn't put the hair in them.

[True]

personally iv found that the rooting tool and glue works best for me, I think its the easiest? I haven't tried other methods though lol. I use a pronged needle, some people make these themselves by cutting the eye part of a normal needle, I would rather just buy them xD.

I use a slightly larger needle to make new holes if i have to, but I mostly use it to widen the holes already there before I add the hair, I hardly ever break/bend pronged needles when I do this. and yes the holes will close up quite fast, so even if the needle is bigger then it needs to be, it will shrink up snugly around the plug.

[hlbmlp]

i just shove the pushpins where i want them and leave them in till i rehair... which is usually more than a few days.  they dont close up after that.   designs.... well it depends what i am doing, and what i am looking for.  Sometimes i'll add a third row, or just widen the holes by wiggling the pins around and put more in each plug, or give bangs... I have failed at bangs so far though... :< 

I use a weaving method to actually hair them... I just shove a plastic dental floss threader through the hole, the loop of the hair through that, pull with tweezers, and let a loop through. I then pull the next loop through the last and tighten the previous plug.  At the end i make a large knot after pulling it through.  No glue, no mess, and none of the hair has ever come out! ^__^  It also takes me very little time.  maybe 2 hours tops...

I have tried the rehairing tool... and i fail big!  I got about 6 plugs done in the same amount of time and then they got snagged on the tool and came out T___T  maybe that's just me.... I also stabbed myself a couple times and bled... which is saying something because i use an exacto almost every day and have never once cut myself.  *knocks on wood*

[PrincessKnight]

@hlpmlp: Great tips, thanks! I'm pretty curious about the dental floss method - it sounds complicated but being able to finish in 2 hours is pretty impressive. I'll have to give it a try.


Thats a shame about the bangs though , anyone on the forum got tips for doing bangs?

[MrsDavis]

Those are good suggestions. *nods*

I've been looking at the re-hairing tools, and they look like something I'd just end up stabbing myself with, lol.

Do you know if anyone has any tutorials on how to do bangs? I have some ideas on how to try it, but...
I really like the banged look, though.

[keikokukien]

Oh man...I'm another newbie to pony customizing, but I only plan to do it as a hobby. There was this youtube video about the "needle and thread" method, and after reading ALOT about different rehairing methods, that seemed the simplest to start off with. So far, my only problems have been silly, first-time mistakes, but those are bound to happen no matter how much you prepare.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7l2dgK4-sU this is the video that I went by...however, two things to note: glue is runny. Pick your glue wisely if you plan on using glue of any sort (which is pretty much what many rehairing methods require). The other thing is that this takes more time than a rehairing tool because you have to knot the ends of each hair plug AND glue them, but to me...that means double security. Oh, actually three things! ; It's actually easier to look in the head and see the hole you just made or opened up with a push pin or needle, push the sewing needle through the hole and just pull it out! It's much easier than trying to pull the needle back through.

Ugh..bangs....I am making four boy ponies as a project for a jrock group I like, but three of the four have short hair now and...I am just not sure what to do about their hair. (Plus they look SO cute with really really long, silky, new hair~) But after you condition the hair, it tends not to stick up as much, and it's easier to style before you cut the hair instead of after. Someone on this forum helped ALOT with that. Still not sure how I'm going to cut the hair...but hopefully some of this randomness can help? I'd really like to see your customs when you finish them!

[MrsDavis]

Oooo, another newbie to the custom world!

I'm so excited to get started. I've got some baits lined up and ordered my apoxie sculpt. I just need pony hair really, and maybe a few new brushes and paints. (I'm hard on my paintbrushes )

[sunnydaze]

The tool is quite fast and really simple once you get a good rhythm going and find the best way to pick up the hair required for a plug.  Personally I use a large gauge needle to widen each hole just prior to inserting the pronged end to help prevent damaging the tool and to help the hair go in easier. Some customizers can rehair in about 45min or less using the tool. It takes me like an hr and a half. since I usually have 4-5 colour hair blends. And it takes time to clean up between colour changes..

[Maniah]

On a g4 it takes me about an hour to Rehair using the tool. On a g3 it can be closer to 2 hours. I like the tool because then I dont have needles makin my finger sore. My first pony was the needle and floss method. Never again. Ugh.

I tried somethin new on a recent custom. I added a row of plugs down the center of the two standard lines of holes. The result was a pleasingly thick lush mane. I may make that standard from now on.

To make new holes I just use a push pin or an awl. I put the push pun or the awl in, then gather my hair in the tool, then remove the pin and insert the hair. Easy peasy. Even with preexisting holes I do this. It lessens the chance of breaking your Rehairing needle. 

[Griffin]

I use the needle & thread method, here's a pretty good tutorial. It is possible to do this without glue, but I usually do only one knot and add a bit of white glue to secure it. If rooting two plugs at the same time feels difficult at first, you can do them one at a time by using a single piece of thread. Just remember to tie the knot at the end of the plug instead of the middle, or alternatively reduce the thickness so that you can fit all the hair in one plug hole.

I know using the tool would be much quicker... but I haven't switched to that yet, I like how the knots make the hair really secure, and I'd be afraid of stabbing myself or scratching the paint if the tool slips. What I'm most afraid of, though, is splitting the scalp. That can happen with any method if the plastic has weakened (the downside of boiling the head in order to get the old hair out, or baking it because of sculpting) but with the needle & thread method it's a bit easier to control the force needed to insert the plugs. But these are just my thoughts, I think most people have no problems with rehair tools whatsoever so pick a method that feels most comfortable to you.

I poke new plugholes with a thick needle or a push pin. Just be careful not to make the holes too close to each other or the scalp may split. For bangs you need to add a row of holes across the forehead and a few rows towards the ears, so that you have a sector shaped area on the forehead full of new plugholes. 

Adding a third row in between the existing ones like Maniah suggested may work, but again you need to be careful if the plastic is really soft or if the two rows are very close to each other. Most of the time I just make my plugs a little thicker so that the mane will look fuller.

[Maniah]

True that. I stick to the center as best as possible and line the holes up as best i can so they are staggered from the other ones. If I trace from an outside row hole straight across to the other outside row hole, I don't want to hit a hole in the center. This gives the plastic more room to stretch.

[PrincessKnight]

Lovin' all these tips, keep em' coming!


I've made a rudimentary re-rooting tool and tested it out quickly, and found that the hair doesn't stay put very well at all - I have a feeling I'd be accidentally pulling out plugs quite frequently. I can't tell if it's because my homemade tool is completely awful, or if I'm not using enough hair in the plug? Or do you just stick it all in and rely on the glue to hold it all in place?

[rybett]

Thanks all!!  I'm down to my last needle and have 1.5 manes to finish.