G4 Hair Quality, What Is the Deal?!

[Errant_Harpy]

After having primarily been a collector of G4 blindbags I decided to start a G4 brushable collection!  I popped around the drugstores; they still have a bunch of Explore Equestria pearlized brushables.  They're by far my favorite set. 

However, their hair out of the package is complete garbage!  It's frizzy and/or stringy.  I've managed to get some older G4 brushables on ebay and I was shocked at how much better the hair quality was!  Older G4's have soft, thick hair.  The quality difference between Dewdrop Dazzle and, say, Sea Swirl or Pretzel is just staggering.

What happened?  Are they putting less hair in the plug?  Using a different material?  Hasbro cheaped out?  (Most likely answer certainly...)  Anyone else notice a drop in hair quality?

[tailrustedtealeaf]

There's probably thread upon thread of everyone just complaining about the hair. I noticed it sometime around when the pearly ponies were released.
It feels like a different material to me? I had some luck conditioning my Celestias hair, so you could try that to see if it helps at all. I've also noticed the hair feels greasy.

[Baby Sugarberry]

In short, no Quality Control.

Even the best of G4's only somewhat approach the hair quality we had for G1-G3.  Most of them fall well below that standard, which is why they cost so little and have so many problems right out of the gate.  Cheap manufacturing, cheap materials, cheap toys. 

[flutterscotch]

G2 and G3 were like this too at times. It's just Hasbro.

[MerryAnvil]

I can't offer you any answers as to why they're like this, but I can offer you a method that worked for me with getting their hair into a much nicer state!

I use the fabric softener method instead of conditioner. I just take a bit of Downy (just enough to make the water cloudy) and pour it in a bowl of warm water. Then I soak the pony's mane and tail in it for a minute or so, swish it around some, and then brush and style the mane and tail the way I want it to look. Then just wait until the hair is completely dry and brush it a bit!

I've had great results with that, and no problems with it so far. Obviously check the ingredients on your fabric softener first just to be sure, but the gentle diluted solution of it seems to do wonders. My pearly ponies have really nice, soft hair, free of that greasy feeling. Plus, they smell great!

I'll have to see if I can take some pics to show later today when I get back from school.

[Leave a Whisper]

I can't offer you any answers as to why they're like this, but I can offer you a method that worked for me with getting their hair into a much nicer state!

I use the fabric softener method instead of conditioner. I just take a bit of Downy (just enough to make the water cloudy) and pour it in a bowl of warm water. Then I soak the pony's mane and tail in it for a minute or so, swish it around some, and then brush and style the mane and tail the way I want it to look. Then just wait until the hair is completely dry and brush it a bit!

I've had great results with that, and no problems with it so far. Obviously check the ingredients on your fabric softener first just to be sure, but the gentle diluted solution of it seems to do wonders. My pearly ponies have really nice, soft hair, free of that greasy feeling. Plus, they smell great!

I'll have to see if I can take some pics to show later today when I get back from school.

I need to try this! Thanks Dakota!

Idk what Hasbro is doing. My G1s and G3s mostly don't have issues, with the exception of Paradise who has a dry, poofy-frizzy tail that refuses to soften. Cheaper hair is my bet.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Thank you, Dakota!

[MerryAnvil]

No problem!

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Took this pic just now, since I'm home from school. Both these gals (Starlight Glimmer and Coloratura) had greasy, stringy-looking hair when I first got them from the store. However, after their fabric softener soak, they look real nice as you can see! The fabric softener also has the tendency to make the hair bouncy and helps it hold in whatever style you put it in, so it's great if you have stubborn pony hair that likes to spring back into a certain position or you're looking to style it a certain way and need it to stay. I've used it to tame my unruly G1s in the past. It's also amazing for plushie hair! If you've ever had a G1 plush, they have really scratchy, coarse hair. It softens that right up! Really nice.

As I said before though, while I've had no problems with it so far (and I've used it on every new pony I get), just be cautious with your fabric softener choices and make sure to dilute it properly with warm water <3 I hope it helps!

[tailrustedtealeaf]

They look so gooood. Will def have to try this when I get the chance!