Removing hair from a pony with a cocked neck?

[PuddingPie]

hi! newbie here. i'm trying to do my first rehair job on G3 Sweetberry. as you may o may not know, her neck is cocked to give her a sassy sort of look. i knew i should have started with a straight necked pony, but i don't have one at the moment who doesn't have tinsel in her hair (and i don't want my first rehair to use tinsel, i've heard it's hard ;x; ). i've got everything i need, but the tweezers/needlenose pliers don't reach her roots! they close up in the hole, so i can't pinch. what do i do? i even bought all the replacement hair! and i've grown really fond of Sweetberry, she's so cute ...
any help would be appreciated! thanks a whole bunch <3

[aintnobuffalo]

Some people have used scissors to scrape out hair roots. I believe I was able to do that with success last time I scraped out far away roots. Some nice long tweezers with a bit of a sharp end are a good investment if you come across some.

[FullMoonFever]

I use needle nosed pliers and also curved hemostats. And sometimes a little help from being soaked in acetone for a few minutes.

~jenn

[rybett]

Head to Amazon and look for hemostats.  They come in different lengths and are awesome for hair yanking.  I believe they can be found at sports stores in the fishing area too.

[Uninu]

Hemostats are great! I also sometimes use scissors to scrape off the last remaining pieces, but they need to be used carefully as they can cut the plastic if you're too forceful.

[PuddingPie]

thanks all! before i go out and drop any money on hemostats (i'm 15, so anything over $1 is expensive to me  ), i'll try the acetone soak. should i cover her eyes with something so that the paint doesn't loosen up?

[Galactica]

Be VERY CAREFUL with an acetone soak- 

Firstly, I don't think you can preserve the eye paint if you do a soak- if you soak the head in acetone, the paint will peel off.  Also, don't soak for too long- I made that mistake once and the vinyl blew up really large and puffy like a marshmallow and then I think it was weaker and thinner when it shrank back down...

I just dug through the tools and found something long and sharp to scrape at the roots with... if some get left behind, well no big deal right? So long as they are inside the pony?  Just a though maybe that idea will horrify some

[Skeen]

I use a flathead screwdriver to scrape the roots with, and occasionally I will soak a cotton ball with acetone and use hemostats or tweezers to hold it on the hair roots for a few minutes to loosen any tough glue.  That way the acetone goes only where it's needed!  And on really REALLY caked on glue, I have been known to step on the heads to crack stubborn globs. 

[FullMoonFever]

thanks all! before i go out and drop any money on hemostats (i'm 15, so anything over $1 is expensive to me  ), i'll try the acetone soak. should i cover her eyes with something so that the paint doesn't loosen up?

you cannot preserve the eyes with an acetone soak.  If you try putting tape on it, the acetone will dissolve the tape and you will end up with a gooey mess.

I suggest starting the soak for 3 -5 minutes.  Be VERY careful, I've ruined several pony heads by soaking them too much.  If the head is already soft and squishy, don't leave it in for more than 5 minutes.  If the head is rock hard you can leave it in for a tiny bit longer.  Also remember that acetone is an all purpose dirt remover.  So it will remove just about everything.  You can get acetone at all hardware stores like Lowes, and Home Depot and Ace Hardware.  Use it OUTSIDE!!  It's got a nasty strong odor, if you use it inside you could get a nasty headache and possibly dizzy.  Since you're only 15 I suggest having a parent or someone with acetone experience to help you (Not saying that you're not able to do it on your own, but if you've not used it, sometimes someone helping is a good idea.)

Good luck

~Jenn

oh also keep it away from flames, and it will dry out your hands really easily, if you use nitrile or latex gloves the acetone will eat them, so it's best to to use it without gloves.  Also if you're wearing nail polish, kiss it good bye, lol it will come off.

[Iris Patch]

thanks all! before i go out and drop any money on hemostats (i'm 15, so anything over $1 is expensive to me  ), i'll try the acetone soak. should i cover her eyes with something so that the paint doesn't loosen up?

you cannot preserve the eyes with an acetone soak.  If you try putting tape on it, the acetone will dissolve the tape and you will end up with a gooey mess.

I suggest starting the soak for 3 -5 minutes.  Be VERY careful, I've ruined several pony heads by soaking them too much.  If the head is already soft and squishy, don't leave it in for more than 5 minutes.  If the head is rock hard you can leave it in for a tiny bit longer.  Also remember that acetone is an all purpose dirt remover.  So it will remove just about everything.  You can get acetone at all hardware stores like Lowes, and Home Depot and Ace Hardware.  Use it OUTSIDE!!  It's got a nasty strong odor, if you use it inside you could get a nasty headache and possibly dizzy.  Since you're only 15 I suggest having a parent or someone with acetone experience to help you (Not saying that you're not able to do it on your own, but if you've not used it, sometimes someone helping is a good idea.)

Good luck

~Jenn

oh also keep it away from flames, and it will dry out your hands really easily, if you use nitrile or latex gloves the acetone will eat them, so it's best to to use it without gloves.  Also if you're wearing nail polish, kiss it good bye, lol it will come off.

You can and should get solvent-proof gloves at the hardware store for dealing with acetone. It's really bad for you to touch the acetone directly. ^_^; They're more expensive than nitrile and seem to come in pairs instead of a box of 50, but it's really worth it to be safe!

[PuddingPie]

thanks all so much! i didn't have enough acetone (well, just nail polish remover) for a full soak, so i just poured it directly into the head like a little bowl. whether that ends up badly for most people is unknown to me, but little Sweetberry took it well! i poured out the solvent when it started to leak through the hair, and it definitely helped.
 but i still can't pull her hair out. i guess it isn't really a problem of the hair being glued to the head, but more of a problem that i can't reach any of the hairs because her neck is cocked.
you know, i haven't seen a lot of customs or rehairs in the Diva pose. is this even possible?! i really don't want to give up, because i bought the hair and everything.

[rybett]

Oh, yes it is possible.  We just need to get those pesky hairs out for you.  Got a flat head screwdriver?  After the acetone, that might allow you to scrape things out. 

[FullMoonFever]

yes it's very possible.  I've made a few customs in that pose.

[Jennifer2004]

Yep it is definitely possible. You just need the right tools. Here is a custom that I made in the diva pose. I think she may have even been a Sweetberry.

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Like many others have mentioned, curved hemostats are wonderful for something like this. They really do help a lot. They make the job go from seemingly impossible to almost easy.

I know you mentioned not having a lot of money so I did a bit of searching. Here is a set with one curved hemostat and one straight, only $4 for both of them and it has free shipping: http://www.amazon.com/Hemostats-Curved-5-Straight/dp/B00IJCGKR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430098798&sr=8-1&keywords=hemostats

And if it is a matter of not being able to order things online, due to age or whatever, I wouldn't mind helping you out with that, just let me know.

~Jennifer

[Starfall]

Perhaps leave her head in a mug of boiled water, allow her to get hot - then take out and press down on the hair seam and try and crack the stiff bits of glue?