Fading pink hair, what to do with you?

[elish2]

Hi guys! So what do you do to preserve your ponies fading pink hair? Currently I try to keep them in the back/middle of my display cabinate so the least amount of sun hits them, but i have been tempted to grab used light blocking bags from my work ( I am a nurse and we use light retardant bags for some medications) as we will throw them out any way.

What do you do?

[tulagirl]

I keep mine in a wardrobe so that no light or constant air flow will get to them.  I don't put mine in baggies due to mold build up since I live in a humid area.  I feel light is a huge problem so not many of my ponies are on display as a result. I only take them out to admire a few at a time and the rest are safe in a dark pony community lol.

[scarletjul]

I keep mine on shelves in the closet. 

[CrimsonEtClover]

Does artificial light fade it?

[ApertureScience]

I almost want to say no to artificial light fading it, but I can't be 100% sure; I have one of the early releases of G3 Minty and her hair is still really pink despite being exposed to a good amount of artificial light.  Same for Pinkie Pie.

I don't do anything too special.  I just keep them away from the sunlight as best as I can and try to block it from getting into the room.

[tulagirl]

I would say yes to artificial light fading because people who keep their dolls in curio cabinets have said that it caused all sorts of problems and they now dont recommend any collection that is vinyl, plastic, fabric or wood be placed in a lighted cabinet.  Like for example Ginny dolls eye brows turn orange or yellow in lighted cabinets and in sun.  I don't know how long it took to happen, I am just not taking the chance.  In some castles you are not allowed to take pictures because the flash will destroy the antique paintings.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Artificial light is harmful to materials, just not as bad as direct sunlight because indoor lighting usually lacks the UVA and UVB components of full spectrum light (which is what lets plants photosynthesize, and causes sunburns.)  Light is after all energy, and you are hitting whatever surface is being lighted with photons.  The more lumens, the faster the damage. 

[Honeycomb]

I think there was a pony experiment someone conducted, and it showed that artificial light doesn't fade. I can't find the thread though.
I keep mine in drawers. I'm totally paranoid about having pink hair fade.

[PurpleCheeseStick]

I just keep mine on my shelves with my others. Currently my room is in my basement, so no sunlight gets down here. Ever. I have artificial lights of course but I'm not too concerned about them- I myself don't think putting ponies into drawers and such makes much sense. I buy my ponies mainly to display them and keep them out for easy access if I want to play with their hair or take them on an adventure with me, so I don't foresee ponies in drawers or bags in my future! 

[hathorcat]

BlackCurtains did a fantastic experiment with fading pink hair and different types of light to show the effects.

Yes, all light has an effect but light containing UV is beyond doubt the most aggressive in speed and scale of damage.

I usually keep my pink haired ponies at the back of the shelves. I live surrounded by trees on 4 sides in the heart of the Scottish countryside - the sunlight here is not only patchy but very seldom strong. However, I had a minty Milkweed and Tumbleweed with the pinkest hair - they sat in their bassinet, at the back of a shelf and never in direct sunlight [but in a room which gets sunlight and curtains always closed to ensure limited damage] but over the years their hair [the top of their manes not their tails which are in complete darkness] has faded noticeably. So I agree that given time and even some indirect light fading is going to occur.

I am planning to reorganise the pony room over the festive break and keep all those pink haired ponies properly in the dark some how!

[Ginger]

For now I keep all my ponies stored in the dark in my walk-in closet (don't want to leave them out because of smokers). My dream someday is to have a craft/hobby room and have them put on display in there, away from direct sunlight and with really heavy curtains to use when I'm not in there. Some UV protection windows would be pretty awesome too! lol.

I have some ponies with really bright fading pink hair so I'm trying to preserve that as much as possible.

[elish2]

Thanks for the info, I am coming up with an idea...if I can make a boxed in shelf with a door in the front, then only open the ponies up when i am showing them off or to look at them myself...

[FantasticFirefly]

One pony collector has everything in glass displays, but hung a ceiling mounted curtain in front of her cabinets so when she wants to protect them, she closes that. I think it's a fantastic idea I'll be using once I have enough cabinets. I've only got a couple shelves and will be picking up a wall mounted display case in the spring (I hope). For those I bought some light blocking panels from a clearance center, and will cut/edge them and attach Velcro to the top of the panel & top of each case- so they're there when I want them and off easily enough when I show off the ponies.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Hmmm... I cover the inner sides of the windows with blankets and tack it down so no light comes in.  Then there's drapery over that so even more light-blocking.  I have observed the light moving around in that room over the course of the day so I understand which shelves still get some sunlight.  The pink-haired ponies are tucked up on one of the darkest, highest shelves that never receives direct sunlight and all UV light is extremely muted and ambient by that point. 

It's such a challenge photographing it though!  I have taken pictures of all my nicest pink ponies but the photos do no justice to the actual color so I am not sure if any fading has occured over the past few months...  

I think if I did discover they were fading that I would move them to a different room in the house where there is no access to outdoor light at all.  Or put them in a cabinet with closed doors.

[wizzer218]

Like a vampire...lol....all my windows are covered...hehe