Oh tinsel, how do I tame thee?

[PitterPatter]

Hi all,

So I've been holed up in my room a lot recently feeling very sickly and virusy and a lot of that time has been spent looking at my ponies. As such I have come to the conclusion that crazy tinsel hair is doing my head in and I need to sort them out. Before I jump in I'd like to get some advice please ^_^

Soooo, first thing to get straight is that I don't want to remove the tinsel. That is a big no and I looooveeee the tinsel.

One of the things I want to know is how secure is tinsel colour? I don't want to be merrily washing away, only to finish and see the tinsel is no longer orange or purple.

Also, I've heard about using dryer sheets to straighten tinsel out, is this effective?

If anyone has any other advice on maintaining tinsel then please do let me know. I want to get these ladies looking spik and span  #

Thanks
PitterPatter

[Starly]

Specify what generation, what pony(s) and what type of tinsel please.
Please.
PLEASE.
Please. :c

[Evening_Moonstone]

Don't use Oxyclean to wash tinsel hair!  The metallic will come right out!
I learned that the hard way on Princess Tiffany.

[PitterPatter]

Specify what generation, what pony(s) and what type of tinsel please.
Please.
PLEASE.
Please. :c

Mostly G3 and one G4 ^_^

[Starly]

Specify what generation, what pony(s) and what type of tinsel please.
Please.
PLEASE.
Please. :c

Mostly G3 and one G4 ^_^

Okay, so those usually have pearly tinsel which is a pain.

[hathorcat]

Dryer sheets work to tame it if tinsel is seriously wild but its more a calming down effect rather than fixing it. If tinsel is very very crinkled tugging it gently at the base works well to get some kind of straightening to the hair and if the tinsel is very crinkled I would suggest that before you try straightening.

Unlike traditional metallic tinsel which we had in G1s, G3s and G4s tend to have plastic based tinsels which acts a little different to heat...i.e. it melts and removes the top colour based coating. However what the plastic means is that its colour fast you are not going to remove the colour by washing unless you are washing it in something aggressive and abrasive.

Personally the only way I have managed to get some kind of control over G3 tinsel is by ironing it - but not with the normal flat iron as the tinsel is a little too likely to melt but by placing the ponies hair between a couple of pieces of cloth and then using a clothing iron to press over the top - the hair must always be wet and even in this situation conditioner is a good idea. Also ensure that the hair never heats up excessively as you will always run the risk with the more modern tinsels of melting.

[PitterPatter]

Thanks Hatorcat. I was wondering about a regular iron, as my hair ones I think would be waaaayyy to hot and I can control the iron.

I think I shall try and grab the ponies by their proverbial horns and see if I can't make some nicer hairstyles! ^_^

[Vintergatan]

Specify what generation, what pony(s) and what type of tinsel please.
Please.
PLEASE.
Please. :c

Mostly G3 and one G4 ^_^

Okay, so those usually have pearly tinsel which is a pain.

Well that is a useful tip :S

The way I deal with wild G3 tinsel is I tend to put the hair under a stream of really hot water and hold it there for a bit. This usually results in the tinsel at least flowing well with the hair afterwards, at least if you don't comb it too much ^^

If you decide to try some of these things, please post before and after pics, I'd be interested to see what works

[elish2]

I've used a hair straightener that has a very low setting so as not to get too hot. I have also used it in conjunction with the dryer sheet method, and that worked very well for me.