Fading hair....

[PitterPatter]

Hi all,

So, fading hair. We all know about it, we've perhaps all had it in our collections at some point, but I still have questions

G1 fading pink - does it fade over time, just because, or is it generally from being kept in sunlight?
I know UV breaks things down and fades many a thing over time, but I do wonder about if that colour will always fade away even if you kept it in a dark box.
Now obviously, in the interests of safety the odd G1 I have with pink I try and keep away from direct sunlight... but will it really make a difference in the end?

G3 - Again, do these fade just because that colour is prone to it, or again is it more the result of being kept in the light?
For example I have a Styling Pinkie Pie that has gone white, and clearly from being on a windowsill as half of her body colour has lightened in places. But I have another regular brushable pony who's hair is now white when it should be pink, but as she has a white body I cannot determine that it is a direct result of sunlight. At the base of her tail, at the hole, there is a slight indication that her hair should be pink, that's the only reason I thought to look her up.

Any thoughts to add to my ramblings/lack of knowledge on fading pink hair ?

[Sunshine]

I ask about fading pink hair alot... my general knowledge is that when kept out of the UV sunlight, the fading process will be so greatly reduced that you could say it "doesn't fade" in the darkness. There's a thread somewhere, and I always forget the link to it, where someone did a test of fading the dollyhair that relates to the "fading pink" color used in G1 ponies... and showed the differences in fading between sunlight, indoor light, and some others I believe...

I've heard it happens rather quickly if left out in the direct sunlight for a while... I think it certainly makes a difference! I've had some ponies for over a decade in "dark places" away from the sunlight and maybe the hair potentially has lightened somewhat, but it has not become a noticeable fade out (like my super pink fading pinks are still pink after all this time...)

I do believe that under regular indoor light it takes much longer to fade out.
This is all based on G1s

[Jemgirl]

I have found any of my ponies and also Jem dolls which have the same hair, fade faster in direct sun light than away from light, yet indoor lighting does still have an effect on fading, especially those light pinks, compared to kept in a completely dark space, so any type of light will add to fading, yet sunlight speeds the process up.

What I do when this happens to any of my ponies or dolls, I color the hair using a fabric dye or pigment dye and 're-pink' all the fading pink hair. That way I can enjoy them on display and also brighten them back up. If looking for a shade of pink dye, the brighter, or fluro-er, the better, as you will get more of a pink, than a rose color.

[PitterPatter]

I ask about fading pink hair alot... my general knowledge is that when kept out of the UV sunlight, the fading process will be so greatly reduced that you could say it "doesn't fade" in the darkness. There's a thread somewhere, and I always forget the link to it, where someone did a test of fading the dollyhair that relates to the "fading pink" color used in G1 ponies... and showed the differences in fading between sunlight, indoor light, and some others I believe...

I've heard it happens rather quickly if left out in the direct sunlight for a while... I think it certainly makes a difference! I've had some ponies for over a decade in "dark places" away from the sunlight and maybe the hair potentially has lightened somewhat, but it has not become a noticeable fade out (like my super pink fading pinks are still pink after all this time...)

I do believe that under regular indoor light it takes much longer to fade out.
This is all based on G1s

Thanks for that.  I guessed that yeah, direct sunlight/UV would obviously be a bad thing, particularly for G1, and I deff avoid that, though not to the point of darkness:P

But what about g3? I mean, I would have though that by then the compound of the hair would have changed slightly. Does anyone have G3 with partly faded hair? Or experienced it fade in their own hands - so to speak? I was really surprised to have a faded G3.

[Aednatia]

I find that G3 pink hair that fades has been do to brushing.. I over zealously brushed my donkey pose Minty. I think most Mintys' are 'fading pink', and the G3 McD Minty has fading pink hair really bad she didn't even last a week for me before her color was gone. Not sure about other light pink hair that fades on G3s.

[Sunshine]

My Minty as well (Donkey Pose and another...) have partially faded hair, where like "chunks" of her hair are obviously pinker than other "chunks" of hair. Also in her tail. I don't know much about my G3s as they usually come from fleas so I have no idea their history, but, I also keep most of those in darkness for the time being.

My recommendation is to use the UV protectant "sticky" stuff you can put on windows. It's clear you can put it on windows and your display case doors to add extra protection. Museums use it all the time to help. I mean, think of how we sunfade blue ink off ponies - what about the ink used to sign precious documents on display in museums? So, that's why I put some validity behind it (my friend who was working as an "apprentice" to a curator told me about it) but I think you can easily find it online. Before any of my ponies come out of hiding, I'll be doing as many layers of that as I can afford on the display case doors and windows themselves...

Oh and Lights off! I know displays are so lovely with lighting inside them, but, I'd rather get a light colored display shelf (white) and use the overhead main room light to see my ponies than put lighting inside my shelves... LED's probably are the best choice.

Has anyone done an experiment testing incandescent bulbs v. compact flourescent v. halogen v. LED?

If no one has, I have a hank of Pussycat... I might try...

[Rhubarbpie]

Heh yup, I have my ponies displayed in a back-lit display cabinet, only I don't use the back light part - so I turned it into a secondary shelf/riser!! Right on the back of it is a ridiculously girly pink haired Steamer!!  LOL I keep him in the dark in the vain hope it'll preserve his pinkness!!

[Sunshine]

Heh yup, I have my ponies displayed in a back-lit display cabinet, only I don't use the back light part - so I turned it into a secondary shelf/riser!! Right on the back of it is a ridiculously girly pink haired Steamer!!  LOL I keep him in the dark in the vain hope it'll preserve his pinkness!!

Poor Steamer... he's suppose to be pink but how handsome is he with white too?

[Jemgirl]

I too have some G3s who's hair has faded, especially Minty, as her hair used to be pink and is now almost white.

I do think the hair fibre just fades and on certain colors than others. The hair I also buy from Dollyhair, the light pink does exactly the same thing and will fade over time.

[BlackCurtains]

Has anyone done an experiment testing incandescent bulbs v. compact flourescent v. halogen v. LED?

I did full sunlight vs indirect sunlight vs incandescent vs compact fluorescent.

Full sunlight bleached completely to white in a month, turned brittle and disintegrated but even after one week it was significantly faded. There was no noticeable change in the others last time I compared them. They've been hanging around in their respective lights for about a year and seven months now.

[Sunshine]

Hrmmm that's so interesting!

I think I might try a couple small pieces in my closets with Halogen and LED lightning. Maybe we can complete the "group" by knowing how those two affect the pink hair as well!

[BlackCurtains]

Go for it! The more the merrier

I don't have any halogens and I think the only LEDs I've got are in flashlights or decorative type deals. I checked mine every week for the first month. Remember also to keep a bit in a dark drawer or something so you can see exactly how much they fade, if at all.

I should say too that the CFL I'm using are 25 watt Daylight. The other kind give me terrible headaches so I don't use them.

[Sunshine]

I have Halogens in my kitchen, and we have some LEDs in some of our ceiling fans... I think I can move a bulb into each of my closets and leave the lights on in the closets... The "control" I'll keep in the dark drawer...

Once I start I'll go for 1 week, and see...  I feel bad wasting electricity, but, it's for SCIENCE!

[PitterPatter]

I too have some G3s who's hair has faded, especially Minty, as her hair used to be pink and is now almost white.

I do think the hair fibre just fades and on certain colors than others. The hair I also buy from Dollyhair, the light pink does exactly the same thing and will fade over time.

Thanks for informing me everyone that G3's also fade. I just assumed that over the years things would change and so it would be less likely. Plus, I don't have any others with faded pink hair, I don't even own a Minty (!) So it's never occurred to me before.
The Styling Pinkie I have is obviously from sun as her body colour is off too. But the new one that's got a white body... can't tell any other way.
Ahh well ^_^

[hathorcat]

I was going to link to BCs awesome experiment! Its the best proper information we have.

There are plenty of G3s which have faded hair - Minty releases and Desert Rose being the most obvious 2. But also remember that most G3s are 20 years younger than G1s so they will have had less exposure in general than earlier ponies - hence why it is not a big a problem for this generation.

As others have said direct, or even indirect, sunlight is the problem. Yes, its best to not over expose to other lights - mainly as everything fades with time so there seems no point in risking anything. But your main problem is UV of course - thats what breaks things down and bleaches; however remember that sunlight can get into every single creak and crevice sometimes so while an area may be shaded it could still be getting UV rays which will cause damage.